Leadership is tested during times of crisis, controversy and social unrest. The best leaders rise to the occasion and can create opportunities for meaningful and lasting change. In the world of suicide prevention, voices of activists are challenging established ways of doing things, and in many ways the field is at a crossroads. Many are finding themselves re-examining the questions and methods of our research, the protocols of some of our “treatments” and crisis services, and the systemic racism and other social determinants of suicide that have not received enough attention.
In this interview, I have the honor of interviewing Dr. Jonathan Singer, the current President of the American Association of Suicidology, who has weathered many transitions and challenges during his leadership tenure with grace and significant impact. He shares his story of how he became the leader he is today and invites others to find their voices to change the field to be more inclusive and effective.
About Dr. Jonathan Singer
Jonathan B. Singer, Ph.D., LCSW is Associate Professor of Social Work at Loyola University Chicago. He is a two-time winner of the National Association of Social Workers Media Award in 2012 and 2016. He was a 2014 Visiting Scholar at Fordham University, the 2017 Lucille N. Austin Scholar at Columbia University, and the 2018 Distinguished Lecturer at Weber State University. He is the President of the American Association of Suicidology and coauthor of the 2015 Routledge text, Suicide in Schools: A Practitioner's Guide to Multi-level Prevention, Assessment, Intervention, and Postvention.
Dr. Singer is a well-regarded international speaker who has given hundreds of continuing education workshops, keynote addresses, and presentations on youth suicide, ethics, technology, adolescent development and attachment-based family therapy in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. He is the author of over 65 publications and his research has been featured in national and international media outlets like NPR, BBC, Fox, Time Magazine, and The Guardian. He is an NASW Expert, Healio Psychiatry Peer Perspective Board member, and on several national youth advisory boards including Sandy Hook Promise and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. A pioneer in the integration of technology and social work, Dr. Singer is a founding member of the online suicide prevention social media community #SPSM; the Treasurer for the international human services Information Technology association (http://husita.org/); and co-lead for the Social Work Grand Challenge initiative "Harness Technology for Social Good."
Dr. Singer is the founder and host of the award-winning Social Work Podcast (www.socialworkpodcast.com), the first podcast by and for social workers. The Social Work Podcast has over 40,000 followers on social media, listeners in 208 countries and territories, and a million podcast episode downloads per year. He lives in Evanston, IL with his wife and three children and can be found on Twitter as @socworkpodcast and Facebook at facebook.com/swpodcast.
Show Notes
More about Dr. Singer’s work
Jonathan Singer: http://jonathansinger.com/
Social Work Podcast: http://socialworkpodcast.com/
SPSM Chat: https://spsmchat.com/
American Association of Suicidology: https://suicidology.org/
Statement on Equity and Anti-Racism: https://suicidology.org/about-aas/equity-anti-racism/
Leadership Articles
Strengths Finder: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253715/34-cliftonstrengths-themes.aspx
Leading In Times Of Crisis (Forbes): https://www.forbes.com/sites/joyceearussell/2020/07/26/leading-in-times-of-crisis/#2f224fbf6ed2
Servant Leadership: https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/
Leading Others to Resilience -- 3 Ways to Accelerate Organizational Recovery During Crisis:
Podcast: https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/hope-illuminated-podcast/59
Video: https://youtu.be/zweosgTNpro
Crossroads Conversations in Suicide Prevention
Media Guidelines for Suicide Prevention: https://reportingonsuicide.org/
Cutting through the Clutter — How to Effectively Get your Message of Suicide Prevention Heard (Bart Andrews on “safe messaging” debate): https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/hope-illuminated-podcast/42
PREVENTS: https://www.va.gov/prevents/
Social Determinants of Suicide:
https://www.relias.com/blog/how-to-help-when-social-determinants-spiral
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-men/201909/preventing-male-suicide-social-determinants-approach
Involuntary Hospitalization Increases Risk of Suicide, Study Finds: https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/06/involuntary-hospitalization-increases-risk-suicide-study-finds/
FCC approves 988 to be 3-digit number for national suicide hotline starting in 2022: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/politics/fcc-national-suicide-hotline/index.html
Finding “Common Ground” in suicide prevention and access to firearms: https://www.sprc.org/video/reducing-access-to-means
“Lived Experience Meets Research” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmdgGbaz0QI
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