Bozeman Magazine

Rethinking Suicide Prevention – Montana-Based Public Lectures and Professional Workshops with Dr John Sommers-Flanagan

In the last 17 years, nationwide suicide rates have increased by 61.9%.  This increase has occurred despite focused efforts in suicide prevention.

Suicide deaths have risen from 29,180 in 1999 to 47,173 deaths in 2017.  That translates to an increase of 17,993 deaths, or more than the populations of Livingston and Whitefish, Montana, combined.

According to Dr John Sommers-Flanagan, these increases in suicide deaths are occurring at a time of increased federal, state and local suicide prevention activities.  “Even in the face of vigorous and well-intended suicide and intervention efforts, suicide rates continue to rise, at an average of 2% per year”, says Dr Sommers-Flanagan, “The needle keeps moving in the wrong direction.”  

With his nearly 30 years of suicide prevention experience, Dr Sommers-Flanagan is offering a series of public suicide prevention lectures along with workshops for professionals, throughout the state of Montana. The lectures and professional trainings are sponsored by Big Sky Youth Empowerment, a Bozeman-based nonprofit. These lectures and workshops take a novel approach to understanding suicide, with an emphasis on strengths, resilience, and a debunking of several problematic suicide myths.

The first public lecture will be from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Thursday, May 16, in Bozeman, on the campus of Montana State University, SUB Ballroom D. The first professional workshop training will follow on Friday, May 17th from 8:30 to 4:30 at MSU in Norm Abjornson Hall - Room 165. The public lectures are free. Professional training workshops are $100.00 for 6.5 hours of continuing education, and $50.00 for students and unlicensed participants. Additional public lectures and workshops are planned for Billings, Great Falls, and Missoula.

For more information, please visit https://go.byep.org/advances