Heath Hightower, an assistant professor of social work, joins us at the roundtable to discuss suicide prevention and the need for a shift in how we approach suicidality. He emphasizes the importance of creating spaces for open and honest conversations about suicide and challenging the stigma surrounding it. Hightower suggests that suicide prevention, assessment, and intervention should be integrated into all undergraduate and graduate human services programs. He also advocates for universal screenings for suicide and the inclusion of people with lived experience in the development of support services. Hightower calls for a bottom-up approach that centers the voices and needs of those who are suicidal.

Takeaways:

• Create spaces for open and honest conversations about suicide to challenge the stigma surrounding it
• Integrate suicide prevention, assessment, and intervention into all undergraduate and graduate human services programs
• Advocate for universal screenings for suicide in all healthcare settings
• Include people with lived experience in the development of support services
• Shift from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach that centers the voices and needs of those who are suicidal

Let’s talk about it.

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Heath Hightower, Ph.D., LCSW-CT, LICSW-MA (he, him, his). Dr. Hightower is an Assistant Professor in the Social Work and Equitable Community Practice Department at the University of Saint Joseph. Heath’s clinical specialties and research interests include suicidality in minoritized communities, suicide bereavement, and the bio-psycho-social-spiritual concerns of LGBTQI+ populations affected by depression, anxiety, and trauma. Moreover, he has presented and co-presented at a variety of local, national, and international conferences including the American Association of Suicidology’s Annual Conference, the Boston University School of Social Work Professional Education Program, The Massachusetts School Psychologists Association’s Fall Conference, The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and the World Grief Conference. In 2017, Dr. Hightower was awarded a Connecticut State College and University Board of Regents Scholarly Excellence Award for his applied positive psychology research with community college students.

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