Presented by Guy Diamond, PhD
3-Hour CE Webinar in collaboration with Missouri and Hawaii Psychological Associations*
Suicides jumped 29% among adolescents ages 15 to 19 over the previous decade. In addition to those who die by suicide, there are many more adolescents who have suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide and survive. Youth suicidal ideation, attempt and completion are on the rise. One survey showed that 18.8% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide and 8.9% actually attempted suicide. Dr. Guy Diamond, a psychologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an Associate Professor at Drexel University in the College of Nursing and Health Profession, has devoted his life to developing and researching effective attachment-based family-focused solutions to this serious problem. Most of his research career has involved working with low-income disadvantaged youth and families.
*MePA has partnered with the Hawaii Psychological Association to provide CE certificates. The Hawaii Psychological Association (HPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. HPA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
This webinar will be recorded. On-demand will be available for three months following the event.
Presenter:
Guy Diamond, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Associate Professor at Drexel University in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. At Drexel, he is the Director of the Center for Family Intervention Science (CFIS). Dr. Diamond is the primary developer of Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT). He has received several federal, state and foundation grants to develop and test this model. His primary work has been in the area of youth suicide prevention and treatment research. On the prevention side, he has created a program focused on training, screening and triage to be implemented in non-behavioral health settings. On the treatment side, he has focused on the development and testing of attachment-based family therapy, especially for teens struggling with depression and suicide. Much of this work has focused on inner-city low-income families. He has served as the VP of Science for Division 43 of APA and has focused his efforts on increasing the visibility of the Division as a leader in Family Intervention Science in APA. He was a main stage presenter at APA’s 2022 convention.
Along with his co-authors, Drs. Gary Diamond and Suzanne Levy, Dr. Diamond has written the first book on ABFT, “Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed Adolescents,” published by the American Psychological Association. ABFT emerges from interpersonal theories that suggest adolescent depression and suicide can be precipitated, exacerbated, or buffered against by the quality of interpersonal relationships in families. ABFT aims to repair interpersonal ruptures and rebuild an emotionally protective, secure-based, parent child relationship. The treatment initially focuses on repairing or strengthening attachment and then turns to promoting adolescent autonomy.
Learning objectives:
1. Explain the theoretical foundation of ABFT that guides therapists in therapy implementation.
2. Discuss the purpose of the five treatment tasks.
3. Design therapy to focus on interpersonal growth rather than behavioral control.
