CEU Presenters
Sample Event
Join us on sample date
Join us on sample date
Understanding the Clinical Implications of Suicide:
Prevention, Intervention, Postvention
Saturday, September 26, 2020
&
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Presenters
Prevention, Intervention, Postvention
Saturday, September 26, 2020
&
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Presenters
Kim Bozart is a Licensed Clinician Social Worker who has been working as a mental health provider in San Diego County for the last 17 years. She is a Field Operations Supervisor with PERT, the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team, which provides psychiatric evaluations in the field to individuals in crisis that come into the 911 system. Kim supervises the field based clinicians that collaborate directly with Law Enforcement to support the person in need by building rapport and gaining an understanding of the crisis. The goal is to connect the person immediately to the most appropriate level of services with the intent of preserving life and increasing their level of functioning. For the past 5 years, Kim is an adjunct professor at Miramar College, teaching the Persons with Disabilities and Mental Illness course for the San Diego Regional Police Academy.
Kim currently serves as the Board Chair for Survivors of Suicide Loss, San Diego. In the past, she sat on the planning committee for the Meeting of the Minds annual conference. This conference is specific to San Diego, with the goal of bridging the gap between Mental Health community, substance abuse treatment community, individuals with lived experiences and support staff.
Dr. Susan Writer
Susan has her doctorate in clinical psychology and works full time as the Psychoeducation Specialist, and Public Affairs Liaison for Aurora Behavioral Health Care, an acute in-patient psychiatric hospital in San Diego that treats children, adolescents, adults, and seniors struggling with mental illness and substance abuse. Dr. Writer has a specialty in sexual health and gender identity development, with additional subspecialties in substance use disorders, adolescent development, and geriatric psychotherapy. Dr. Writer has expertise in substance use, mood disorders and stress management, with specialties working with geriatric patients and individuals struggling with substance abuse, and in sexual health and gender identity.
She is a local expert in crisis intervention and de-escalation, suicide prevention and intervention, the treatment of complex trauma, grief and loss, life transition issues, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and stress management. She works with families to help them navigate complex treatment systems and develop resources in the community.
She currently lectures and consults for CSUSM, SDSU, UCSD, Palomar College, and the Navy Drug and Alcohol Counselors School in Point Loma and trains, lectures, and consults throughout Southern California.
Dr. Blaire EhretBlaire Ehret, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and Suicidologist who specializes in suicide
prevention/risk assessment and providing clinical services to Veterans living with psychosis. She works at the VA San Diego Healthcare System and sits on the board of directors of Survivors of Suicide Loss (SOSL) San Diego. She is also an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.
Blaire Ehret has worked in the field of suicide prevention for over 10 years. She started as a suicide hotline volunteer and supervisor at Didi Hirsch’s Suicide Prevention Center in Los Angeles, CA, the nation’s first suicide hotline. In 2017, she earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The Catholic University of America under the mentorship of an internationally revered Suicidologist.
In addition to her clinical and research expertise, she developed strong leadership skills when she was elected into a national position within the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students. In her role, she represented and advocated for psychology students’ education and training, and worked with national leaders to make significant contributions to the field of psychology.
Joyce Bruggeman, Executive Director, Survivors of Suicide LossJoyce Bruggeman has served as the Executive Director of Survivors of Suicide Loss since 2015. She was employed at CSU San Marcos for eleven years, lastly as the Executive Assistant to the President. Losing her husband to suicide in 2008 set her life on a new course. Within a few years of his death, Joyce left the university to pursue more opportunities to work towards suicide prevention and mental health awareness. Joyce speaks throughout Southern California to educate, enlighten, and reduce the stigma attached to mental health issues and suicide.
Joyce developed a curriculum for the long-term survivor of suicide loss –Beyond Surviving – to help survivors experience Post-traumatic Growth and create a good “new normal” after suicide. Additionally, she teaches QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer) Gatekeeper Training for suicide prevention, facilitates support groups, and is a Certified Mental Health Coach.
