A suicide prevention microcredential course at UWM is helping undergraduate social work students develop a specific set of skills to assess and screen those at risk of dying by suicide.
Social work professors Lisa Berger and Colleen Galambos developed the microcredential Suicide Prevention Across the Lifespan to fill the gap in suicide prevention education for social workers.
Social workers serve a variety of clients, including children, families and older adults – often as frontline mental health providers. During the intake process, they may be the first professionals trained to recognize suicide warning signs and provide intervention for an individual. Few social work programs offer courses dedicated to suicide prevention, though the topic might garner minimal coverage in clinical practice courses or textbook sections on death and dying.
In 2022, more than 49,000 people died by suicide in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Considering age, race and ethnicity, as well as other variables, certain groups have disproportionately high rates of suicide.
Among age groups, older adults are the most at-risk group. Grief, loss of role, ageism and social isolation are contributing factors. Galambos paints a picture of how these multiple losses compound to put an older adult at risk.
“We’re concerned about the social isolation factor,” Galambos said. “The older adult who is retired, doesn’t engage socially – and no one is looking in on them to determine if they’re at risk or not,” she added.
Coursework at UWM developed by Berger and Galambos specifically addresses how social workers can intervene. “There’s an epidemic of suicide. Many state licensing boards are now requiring students receive continuing education training in suicide prevention,” Galambos said.
Suicide prevention across all ages
Generally, a microcredential includes six to nine credits of intensive coursework in a particular area, providing students with in-depth knowledge that complements their area of study.
Suicide Across the Lifespan blends knowledge from the Social Work Department’s expertise in youth, children and families and older adults with suicide risk training. Students learn how to screen for different suicide risk factors depending on the age group of their client. The lifespan approach gives students options to work with families, students, youth or older adults.
Recognizing through a literature review that few programs offered a course in suicide prevention, Berger and Galambos spent two years creating the curriculum. A combination of research and collaboration with faculty, input from the Charles E. Kubly Foundation emphasizing programming to address depression and suicide, and the expertise of Loyola University at Chicago Professor Jonathan Singer, all contributed to the microcredential.
Singer’s training, Foundational Knowledge and Skills in Suicide Prevention and Intervention, was the most highly attended professional development course to date for the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, Berger said. According to the Zoom log, 375 people logged into the training. Due to notable interest in the topic, facilitators added a 30-minute open discussion period after the training for participants to connect with each other regarding the needs and resources on suicide in their local communities.
Serving local communities
In the Fall 2024 semester, eight social work students completed the microcredential. Given that most students from the social work program work in the Milwaukee area after graduation, Berger underscores the potential this education has to help the local community. “Lisa and I are committed to continuing the work because it’s so compelling,” Galambos added.
Suicide Prevention Across the Lifespan is available to undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Science in Social Work program. Students outside of the social work program would need nine credits to finish it, and anyone can register as a special student and take the required courses.
