JFS MetroWest is offering a continuing education class entitled, “Preventing Suicide in Adolescents and Young Adults” on November 3 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the JCC MetroWest, 760 Northfield Avenue in West Orange. The program features speaker Suzanne A. Levy, Ph.D., who is the co-developer and director of the Attachment-Based Family Therapy Training Program at Drexel University. The workshop will teach participants how to engage families when working with depressed or suicidal adolescents, recognize barriers to engaging families in treatment, identify and assess risk for suicide, distinguish between risk factors and warning signs and review current models for conducting safety planning with suicidal youth.

The program is intended for, but not limited to, social workers, mental health professionals, educators, school counselors, community leaders and professionals. School professionals will earn three personal development hours and social workers will earn three NJ NASW approved CEUs. The cost to attend is $35 per person for those who register by October 27 and $45 per person for those registering after October 27. The program includes a breakfast that adheres to dietary laws. Please visit www.jfsmetrowest.org to learn more and to register.

The workshop is generously funded by the Eric Eliezer Levenson Foundation for Hope, which is in memory of Eric, son of Eta and Mark Levenson, and supports programming related to mental health awareness. It is also funded by a matching grant by the Jewish Funders Network and Genesis Prize Foundation as part of the “Breaking Barriers” initiative aimed at promoting inclusion for those with disabilities in Jewish life. With these funds, JFS MetroWest is training its staff on additional treatment modalities, offering programming in the MetroWest Jewish community related to the stigma of mental health, including understanding the potential impact of anxiety and depression, and providing educational programming on suicide prevention.