At the 2021 SSA Annual Conference, Dr Owen Bowden-Jones chaired a session on gaps in research and practice concerning the relationship between alcohol use and suicidal behaviour. You can now watch the series of talks and follow-up Q&A session.
The session addressed the spectrum of alcohol use disorder in suicidal crisis and risk in an emergency psychiatric sample. It also covered alcohol and suicide in the general population, as well as interventions that target both substance use and suicidal behaviour.
Sarah Ledden spoke about her research on alcohol use, suicide and self-harming behaviours in the general population. Sarah Ledden is a PhD candidate in Psychiatric Epidemiology based at the Division of Psychiatry at University College London.
John Robins talked about the spectrum of drinking patterns in suicidal crisis, and the associated levels of post-crisis risk. John is based at the National Addiction Centre at King’s College London, where he was awarded departmental funding to complete his PhD. Previously, John spent 7 years working in community drug and alcohol treatment services in Tottenham, London.
Dr Prianka Padmanathan discussed how to provide safe and effective care for Emergency Department attendees who present with substance use related self-harm. She also talked about developing a brief intervention to help prevent suicide in this population. Dr Padmanathan is doing a PhD at the University of Bristol, and works in Addiction Psychiatry in Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust as a Core Psychiatry Trainee.
The session culminated with questions to the panel.
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