LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The medical director of the nation’s leading suicide prevention organization will give a free public lecture in Louisville.
Paula J. Clayton, M.D., of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will present “Suicide 101: Identifying Risk Factors and How Research Guides Treatment” at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 10, at Second Presbyterian Church, 3701 Old Brownsboro Road.
The address is part of the “Building Hope” public lecture series sponsored by the University of Louisville Depression Center, Kentuckiana’s leading resource for depression and bipolar disorder treatment, research and education.
Clayton will discuss the risk factors and warning signs of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and review the most recent research developments in identifying and treating suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Suicide remains a major health concern for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, 600 Kentucky citizens die by suicide annually. Suicide deaths outnumber homicide deaths three to one in Kentucky, and the state’s suicide death rate is the 10th highest in the nation.
It is of particular concern among teens and young adults. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Kentuckians aged 15 to 34, and it is the fourth-leading cause of death for Kentuckians 35 to 54 years of age.
As medical director of the AFSP, Clayton oversees and works with the federation’s scientific council to develop and implement directions, policies and programs in suicide prevention, education and research. Prior to joining AFSP, she served as professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. She also serves as professor of psychiatry, emeritus, for the University of Minnesota, where she formerly was professor and head of the psychiatry department for nearly 20 years.
AFSP is the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those affected by suicide.
The lecture is sponsored by the AFSP in conjunction with the UofL Depression Center. For more information, contact the Depression Center at (502) 813-6606.