ABA Free CLE Webinar on Suicide Prevention

The ABA Free CLE Series will present a webinar on suicide prevention on March 21, 2016. Participants are eligible for 1.5 hours ethics / mental health / substance abuse CLE credit. The program will provide education on how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, and effective ways to help those who may be at risk for suicide. Participants will also hear personal stories from lawyers in recovery from depression and other mental illnesses.

The CDC has reported that suicide was the 10th leading cause of death for all ages in 2013.  There were over 40,000 suicides in 2013 in the United States, at a rate of 1 every 13 minutes. Suicide results in an estimated $51 billion dollars in combined medical and work loss costs. An estimated 9.3 million adults reported having suicidal thoughts in the past year. The percentage of adults having serious thoughts about suicide was highest among adults aged 18 – 25.

We have previously reported on how lawyers are particularly vulnerable to depression and suicide. Almost a third of lawyers suffer from depression. Left untreated, depression can lead to suicide. We can prevent suicide among lawyers by learning to recognize the signs of someone at risk, taking those signs seriously, and knowing how to respond to them.

Our very own Stuart Mauney will be participating as a panelist. Stuart is a mental health advocate and volunteer with the South Carolina Lawyers Helping Lawyers Program.  He is a former member of the ABA Advisory Committee for the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs.  Other panelists include Kate Bender, Programming Director with The Dave Nee Foundation, in New York, and Lynn Garson, a lawyer with Baker Hosteltler in Atlanta, Georgia. The moderator will be Terry Harrell, the Executive Director of the Indiana Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.

Please join us for this important free CLE.

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