Attachment Based Suicide Assessment Training (Online)

Friday April 23rd, 2027 from 9am-1pm PST USA
Online Via Zoom
Hosted by Southern NV EFT
Guest Presenter: EFT Trainer Rachel Thomas, LMFT
AAMFT Approved Supervisor

Suicide assessment involves more than identifying symptoms and documenting risk factors. It also requires understanding the person behind the pain.

Expand your clinical perspective, strengthen your assessment skills, and explore how attachment-based understanding can support more meaningful conversations about suicide.

Beyond the Checklist: Attachment-Based Suicide Assessment

Understanding Suicide Risk Through the Lens of Attachment, Connection, and Emotional Distress

What if understanding a client's attachment needs could transform the way you assess suicide risk?

Suicide assessment is one of the most critical—and often challenging—responsibilities mental health professionals face. While traditional suicide risk assessments focus on identifying warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors, they may not fully capture the relational and emotional experiences underlying a client's suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

What if we could move beyond simply assessing risk to better understanding the emotional pain, attachment injuries, and unmet needs that may contribute to suicidal distress?

Join us for an engaging, 4-hour live online continuing education training exploring suicide assessment through an attachment-based lens. Grounded in attachment theory and informed by Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) principles, this training introduces a relational framework for understanding suicidal ideation, emotional dysregulation, disconnection, and the profound need for safety and connection.

Participants will explore how attachment insecurity, perceived abandonment, relational ruptures, shame, and emotional isolation may contribute to suicidal distress. Through clinical discussion, practical assessment strategies, and case-based examples, participants will learn ways to integrate attachment-informed questions and interventions into comprehensive suicide risk assessment.

Rather than replacing established evidence-informed suicide assessment protocols, this approach offers an additional clinical lens that can deepen understanding, strengthen therapeutic engagement, and support collaborative safety planning.

Whether you work with individuals, couples, or families, this training will offer practical tools to approach difficult conversations about suicide with greater confidence, compassion, and clinical understanding.

Learning Objectives

By the conclusion of this training, participants will be able to:

Explain at least three ways attachment theory can inform the understanding of suicidal ideation, emotional distress, and interpersonal vulnerability.
Identify at least four attachment-related factors—including perceived abandonment, relational disconnection, attachment insecurity, and emotional dysregulation—that may contribute to suicidal distress.
Demonstrate the use of at least three attachment-informed clinical questions to explore relational distress, emotional pain, and unmet attachment needs during suicide risk assessment.
Differentiate between traditional risk-factor-based suicide assessment and an attachment-informed approach, identifying how both can be integrated into comprehensive clinical evaluation.
Describe at least three strategies for incorporating attachment needs, protective relationships, and emotional regulation into collaborative safety planning.
Apply attachment-informed assessment principles to a clinical case involving suicidal ideation while considering risk level, protective factors, therapeutic engagement, and appropriate clinical intervention.

What You'll Explore

The relationship between attachment insecurity, relational distress, and suicidal ideation.
Understanding suicidal distress through the lens of emotional pain, disconnection, and unmet attachment needs.
Recognizing attachment-related triggers and patterns that may intensify suicidal thoughts.
Integrating attachment-informed inquiry into evidence-informed suicide risk assessment.
Strengthening therapeutic safety and connection during conversations about suicide.
Incorporating relational resources and attachment needs into collaborative safety planning.
Applying an attachment-based framework to real-world clinical scenarios.

Who Should Attend?

This training is designed for mental health professionals, including:

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs)
Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs)
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCCs)
Psychologists
Mental health clinicians and clinical supervisors
Graduate-level mental health professionals and associates

Event Details

Date: Friday, April 23, 2027

Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific Time

Location: Live Online Training

Duration: 4 Hours

Registration Fee: $125, $75 for Interns/Associates, $50 for Current Grad Students

Continuing Education: CE credits included in registration fee, subject to applicable approval and attendance requirements.

Go Beyond Identifying Risk. Deepen Your Understanding of Distress.

Meet Your Presenter

Rachel Thomas, LMFT, has been a practicing therapist since 1997 and is a Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist, Supervisor, and the Arizona EFT Trainer. She is passionate about helping couples, individuals, and adult families build stronger connections through therapy, and she also facilitates Hold Me Tight Couples Workshops and offers two-day EFT Intensives for couples and families seeking transformative experiences.

An AAMFT Approved Supervisor since 2005, Rachel has guided many therapists through their licensure journey. She provides ongoing clinical supervision and consultation to the team at Therapy With Heart and to EFT clinicians worldwide who seek additional training and support. Her leadership in the Arizona Emotionally Focused Therapy (AzEFT) and Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) communities is significant, most recently having served as President of AzEFT for four years before transitioning into her current role as the Arizona EFT Trainer.

Continuing Education (CE) Approval & Reciprocity

This continuing education training event hosted by SNVEFT is approved by the Nevada State Licensing Boards for Psychologists, Social Workers, Clinical Professional Counselors (CPCs), and Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs)

Continuing education certificates are issued to participants who successfully complete the training and fulfill all applicable attendance and participation requirements.

CE approval numbers and relevant approval information will be provided directly on participants' official certificates of completion. To protect the integrity of the continuing education process, approval numbers are not publicly displayed on event registration pages or promotional materials.

Out-of-State Licensure & CE Reciprocity

Recognition of continuing education credits approved by another state's licensing board is a common practice among professional licensing boards, particularly when the approval comes from a board overseeing the same or an equivalent professional license type.

Many states allow licensees to apply continuing education credits approved by other state licensing boards toward their own licensure renewal requirements, provided the training meets the receiving board's applicable standards. We are happy to provide supplemental documents if needed, and only by request via email, to submit to your particular state board for CE approval.

CE reciprocity is not universal, automatic, or guaranteed. Requirements vary by state, licensing board, license type, and training content. Participants licensed outside Nevada are encouraged to double-confirm directly with their individual home-state licensing board before registering.

Important Notice: Acceptance of CE credits by an out-of-state licensing board is determined solely at the discretion of that State board. SNVEFT cannot guarantee reciprocity or acceptance outside Nevada. Participants are responsible for verifying eligibility with their respective licensing boards.

*CE certificates are issued only to participants who meet the applicable training completion requirements.