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| American Association of Suicidology | |
|---|---|
| Name | American Association of Suicidology |
| Formation | 1968 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | Suicide prevention, research, advocacy |
| Leader title | President |
American Association of Suicidology is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention, research, and public outreach. Founded in 1968, it convenes clinicians, researchers, survivors, and policy makers to advance knowledge and reduce suicide rates. The association operates nationally through conferences, training programs, publications, and collaboration with governmental and nonprofit partners.
The organization emerged in the late 1960s amid expanding clinical interest in suicide following work by Edwin S. Shneidman, Ernest Becker, Aaron Beck, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Thomas Joiner, Karl Menninger, G. Stanley Hall, Emile Durkheim, and institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, American Psychiatric Association, and American Psychological Association. Early conferences attracted figures from Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Stanford University. During the 1970s and 1980s the association partnered with advocacy groups including American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Mental Health America, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Veterans Health Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to expand crisis services and research funding. In subsequent decades it engaged with federal actors such as the United States Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Office of the Surgeon General, while collaborating internationally with International Association for Suicide Prevention, Canadian Mental Health Association, European Alliance Against Depression, and the United Nations.
The association's mission emphasizes prevention, bereavement support, scientific inquiry, and professional education, aligning with strategic partners like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Objectives include promoting best practices used by clinicians associated with American Psychiatric Association, researchers linked to National Institutes of Health, policymakers from the United States Senate, and community leaders connected to Red Cross, Rotary International, Boy Scouts of America, and Girl Scouts of the USA. The body advances evidence-based programs showcased at venues such as Georgetown University, George Washington University, and Catholic University of America.
The organization is governed by a board of directors including clinicians, researchers, survivors, and ex officio representatives from federal agencies such as Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Past leaders and notable affiliated scholars have included faculty from Harvard Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Committees liaise with partner organizations including National Alliance on Mental Illness, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Psychological Association, American Counseling Association, and Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
Programs address crisis intervention, survivor support, youth prevention, and veteran suicide reduction. Initiatives have been coordinated with 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Defense, Travis Manion Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, American Red Cross, and campus networks at University of Michigan, Pennsylvania State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and University of California, Berkeley. The association promotes gatekeeper training models used by QPR Institute, Mental Health First Aid, ASIST, and collaborates on school-based programs mirroring work at Columbia University Teachers College, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Johns Hopkins University School of Education.
The organization disseminates research through journals, white papers, and annual meetings that attract scholars from National Institute of Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of California, Los Angeles, and international partners such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Karolinska Institutet. Conferences have featured presentations from investigators funded by National Institutes of Health, contributors affiliated with American Psychiatric Association, and policy analysts from United States Congress briefings. Publications reference seminal works by Edwin S. Shneidman, Thomas Joiner, Aaron Beck, David Jobes, and involve collaboration with publishers and societies including American Psychological Association and Springer Nature.
Training programs include clinician-focused curricula, gatekeeper certifications, and continuing education credits accredited through bodies like American Psychological Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center, Council on Social Work Education, and National Association of Social Workers. The association's training complements accreditation standards at institutions such as Association of American Medical Colleges, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and professional boards including the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Advocacy work targets legislative and administrative policy via testimony before United States Congress, consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, collaboration with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and coordination with veterans’ policy offices including the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Policy guidance has intersected with initiatives from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, International Association for Suicide Prevention, and municipal programs run by city governments such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C..
Category:Mental health organizations in the United States