Ethics in Suicide Prevention & Loss Support

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Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD Related seminars and products

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Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD is a clinical psychologist, award-winning keynote speaker, and impact entrepreneur dedicated to transforming suicide prevention from risk management to meaningful healing. She is internationally recognized for integrating the stories, science, and strategy of suicide prevention to help clinicians, leaders, and organizations move beyond liability-driven care toward compassionate competence. 
 

Dr. Spencer-Thomas is Co-Founder and President of United Suicide Survivors International and co-founder of Man Therapy®, an innovative men’s mental health initiative. She served as the founding Executive Secretary of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and has held national leadership roles with the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), including Executive Board Member and Secretary, as well as leadership positions within the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). She has served on Lived Experience Advisory Committees for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now 988), helping embed lived experience into national strategy. 
 

A TEDx speaker and White House invitee, Dr. Spencer-Thomas has consulted and presented across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Her most important credential, however, is her lived experience as a suicide loss survivor—a calling that drives her work to help clinicians not only prevent suicide but sustain a passion for living in the people they serve. 

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sally Spencer Thomas maintains a private practice and receives royalties as a published author. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sally Spencer Thomas is the president of United Suicide Survivors International and is a member of the executive board for the American Association of Suicidology. She is co-chair of the Workplace Special Interest Group for the International Association of Suicide Prevention and is a member of the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

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Objectives

1. Apply foundational bioethical principles to clinical dilemmas in suicide prevention, grief support, and end-of-life care.
2. Recognize and navigate ethical blind spots and biases that may compromise therapeutic alliances and perpetuate inequity in suicide-informed care.
3. Differentiate boundary crossings from boundary violations in suicide-related practice, including transference and countertransference, dual relationships, and clinician self-disclosure.

Outline

Ethical Foundations & Blind Spots

• Objectives Covered:
  • Identify unexamined biases
  • Apply ethical principles (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice)
  • Limitations of the research and potential risks
• Examples of how religion, culture, and education shape blind spots
• Small group activity: Spot the blind spot – real-life scenarios

Legal & Ethical Clarity in Crisis Response

• Objectives Covered:
  • Navigate confidentiality, informed consent, and collateral interviews
  • Learn best practices in documentation
• Case vignette: Ethical dilemma of workplace suicide disclosure

Transference, Countertransference & Lived Experience

• Objectives Covered:
  • Recognize emotional dynamics in suicide-exposed clinicians
• Self-check tools for recognizing over-identification or avoidance
• Strategies for supervision and self-disclosure

The Ethics of Rational & Physician-Assisted Suicide

• Objectives Covered:
  • Engage with the ethics of end-of-life autonomy
• Define and differentiate: suicide, MAiD, rational suicide
• Cultural, legal, and spiritual implications
• Brief dialogue: Holding space vs. imposing values

Forced Treatment and Postvention

• Objectives Covered:
  • Integrate ethics crisis response
• Cultural responsiveness and personal boundaries in care after a suicide
• Ethical use of safety plans (collaborative, not coercive)
• Worksheet: "What’s in your ethical compass?"

Wrap-Up & Commitments to Ethical Growth

• Share one insight or change that clinicians will take forward
• Optional anonymous reflection: "What ethical tension still lingers for you?"

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Therapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counselors
• Case Managers
• Physicians
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals

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