Teenage Suicide Prevention

Public Forum On Feb. 3

WESTPORT — David Shaffer, MD, an internationally recognized authority on the causes, treatment, and prevention of teenage depression and suicide, will present a free public lecture on Thursday, February 3, from 7:30 to 9 pm at Toquet Hall, 58 Post Road East.

Dr Shaffer’s appearance is part of an on-going monthly community lecture series facilitated by the staff of Hall-Brooke Behavioral Health Sciences of Westport as a public service. This lecture is co-sponsored by Positive Youth Directions and the Westport Public Schools.

Teen suicide is a major public health concern, according to Thomas E. Smith, MD, Hall-Brooke’s medical director, who notes that the National Mental Health Association lists suicide as the third leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds, and the sixth for 5- to 14-year-olds.

Dr Shaffer is the Irving Philips Professor of Child Psychiatry at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Child Psychiatry Division chief of the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

He has conducted some of the most influential research on the lecture’s topic, and has received funding and recognition from numerous American and international agencies. He has held leadership positions in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and is a founding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences in London.

His work has provided a framework for many current approaches to assessment and management of mood disorders and suicidal behavior among youths. He provided expert testimony in the recent review by the federal Food and Drug Administration of suicide risk factors associated with the use of antidepressant medications.

Dr Shaffer’s public appearance follows his keynote speech at a symposium for area mental health professionals entitled “Antidepressant Medications and Suicidal Behavior in Youth,” which is being held earlier in the day at Hall-Brooke.

Also appearing as presenters and panelists at the symposium are Bruce D. Waslik, MD, and Jennifer Havens, MD, both of the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University, and Hilary Klein, MD, unit chief impatient services, and Dr Smith. For more information on the professional symposium, call 203-341-4509.

Hall-Brooke is a wholly owned subsidiary of St Vincent’s Health Services of Bridgeport and is affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.