Can’t attend the live streamed version of this workshop? All of our workshops are also available as pre-recorded on-demand videos that you can watch when you want. All are available 10 working days after the live date presentation for up to one year.
Introduction
On Friday November 7, 2025, Dr. Daniel Cox will deliver a half-day workshop on treatment interventions for clients in suicidal crisis.
Workshop Outline
Working with clients in suicidal crisis is among the most challenging and high-stakes areas of clinical practice. Despite their best intentions, many therapists are guided by outdated assumptions or external pressures that result in interventions that are anti-responsive— failing to address clients’ distress and eroding trust in the therapeutic process. This workshop introduces evidence-based practices that prioritize therapeutic responsiveness, aligning interventions with clients’ needs, reducing suicidality, and supporting ethical and effective care.
This workshop will address critical topics, including the limitations of traditional risk assessments, the importance of collaboration and shared goals, alternatives to default hospitalization, and techniques for processing psychological distress. Emphasizing a responsive, client-focused approach, participants will gain practical tools to navigate suicidal crises with confidence, compassion, and skill. Additionally, the workshop will explore essential domains beyond client-facing strategies, including considerations for documentation and other practice-relevant processes.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop, participants will learn to:
Identify common anti-responsive interventions, such as coercive hospitalization and over-reliance on risk assessments
Understand the impact that anti-responsive interventions can have on client trust and therapeutic outcomes.
Develop tools to evaluate hospitalization decisions and engage clients in informed, ethical discussions.
Explore practices that foster collaboration and goal alignment.
Develop skills to manage external pressures (e.g., organizational policies) and internal fears that may influence decision-making, ensuring client needs remain the priority.
About the Presenter
Dr. Daniel W. Cox is a Professor at the University of British Columbia and holds the Myrne B. Nevison Professorship in Counselling Psychology. Dr. Cox has been at UBC since 2012, where he oversees UBC’s Counselling Psychology Program.
Dr. Cox does mental-health research on helping and change processes, particularly processes related to suicide, depression, and PTSD. Currently, he is involved in a series of funded projects examining how to best help those in suicidal crisis. Dr. Cox also hosts a podcast (Psychotherapy and Applied Psychology) where he talks with experts about psychotherapy and related mental-health topics.
Training Modalities
Didactic content, Q&A, case studies, and experiential components.
Who should attend
This workshop is suitable for mental health professionals who work with (even if infrequently) clients in suicidal crisis.
Continuing Education (CE) Credits
Bespoke Mental Health Canada is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Bespoke Mental Health Canada maintains responsibility for the program.
After viewing this workshop live, participants have the option to complete an evaluation form in order to be eligible to receive a certificate confirming the number of credits awarded. This certificate will be sent via email.
Participants who view this workshop as a pre-recorded event will need to complete an additional content-related workshop knowledge quiz in order to be eligible to receive CE credits.
Participants who complete this workshop are eligible to receive 3 CE credits.
Fees
Professionals: $100 CAD + tax
Students*: $80 CAD + tax
* Proof of student status may be required in order to qualify for a student rate.
Key References
Bryan, C. J., Stone, S. L., & Rudd, M. D. (2011). A practical, evidence-based approach for means-restriction counseling with suicidal patients. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 42, 339–346. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025051
Knapp, S. (2023). The essentials of creating effective safety, planning type interventions for suicidal patients. Practice Innovations, 8(2), 131–140. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000205
Large, M. M., & Kapur, N. (2018). Psychiatric hospitalisation and the risk of suicide. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 212(5), 269–273. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.22
Ward-Ciesielski, E. F., & Rizvi, S. L. (2021). The potential iatrogenic effects of psychiatric hospitalization for suicidal behavior: A critical review and recommendations for research. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 28(1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12332
More information coming soon.