Schreiner hosts suicide prevention virtual presentation in May

In May, Schreiner University’s Psychology Department collaborated with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (South Texas) to present “Neurophysiological Risk Factors, Trajectories, and Disease Heterogeneity in Bipolar Disorder: Neural and Environmental Risk Factors for Suicide.”

The event featured a virtual presentation by Dr. Elizabeth Lippard from the University of Texas at Austin, sharing firsthand knowledge on the latest research in suicide prevention.  Lippard is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Dell Medical School, whose research focuses on the intersection of behavioral and developmental neuroscience.

Hosting the event reflects the department’s goal to help students recognize the importance of their well-being and understand that our entire campus acknowledges these struggles and has set in place proactive strategies to support them, according to Dr. Tiffany Culver, Associate Professor of Psychology.  “Many institutions do well responding to tragedies, but are not incorporating proactive strategies on campus.  To address this goal, we began providing the Mental Health First Aid program to our faculty, staff, administration, and students,” said Culver.

This currently-free training provides information on signs and symptoms of mental health challenges, how to help an individual in crisis, and how to find resources to further aid an individual in crisis.  The program also addressed the stigma surrounding mental health and helps participants recognize mental and physical health are equally vital.

The department also provides programs such as the Research Connections and “It’s Real” from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to help educate students about the importance of mental health.

For more information on how the school is addressing suicide prevention, contact Dr. Culver at TCulver@schreiner.edu, or call 830-792-7311.