Suicide Prevention and Intervention through a University-Community Partnership by Emily Pepper McGrath, Ph.D., Delany Thrasher, Ph.D., and David Hickel, Ph.D., Hathaway-Sycamores Child an Family Services, South Pasadena, CA; and Heather Taylor, M.A. and Joan Asarnow, Ph.D, University of California at Los Angeles.

The presentation will describe a collaborative suicide prevention and intervention project developed between UCLA and Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, supported by a grant from the UCLA Center for Community Partnerships. The goal of the project is to improve care for youth who attempt suicide by developing a model academic-community partnership aimed at adapting and implementing evidence based suicide prevention interventions within a community-based organization. The presentation will be provided from the perspective of three psychologists employed at Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services, a large multi-service community and residential mental health agency, and will focus on the first phase of the project: a comprehensive needs assessment with data gathered from mental health providers, youth, and families to help shape and inform the implementation process.