The Crises of Suicide: Living in the Aftermath of Trauma

TAUNTON, MA, UNITED STATES, May 11, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Crises of Suicide is a “complex ball of wax” that has yet to be completely understood. The one common thread that is consistent with respect to understanding suicide attempts, murder:suicide, and the loss of life by suicide, is that of trauma. How can we hope to understand those who struggle to live and survive in a life that is deeply embedded in the Crises of Suicide if we do not recognize 'trauma' as an essential element in this experience? How can we hope to understand what it means to be a family member who has become the “First Responder in Residence” to provide care, intervention, and support for a loved one who struggles if we do not understand that the impact of trauma is on everyone in the family?

Dr. Kathleen carterMartinez, D.A.A.E.T.S., CRT, CSA is a Compassionate Mindful Life Recovery Practitioner, a trained trauma specialist, crises of suicide specialist and clinical psychotherapist with 25 plus years’ experience in hospitals, psychiatric emergency service, emergency departments and behavioral health systems. She is the NY State A Voice at the Table/Impacted Family & Friends Coordinator. As a content expert in compassionate suicide awareness, she advocates for lifelong recovery from personal traumatic events for those who struggle to live in the challenging realm of consistent suicidal thinking. She advocates for impacted family members who serve in the role of the “First Responder in Residence” who provide intervention and support for their loved ones who live within the crises of suicide. Dr. carterMartinez is a Diplomate with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. She holds a Doctoral Degree (Ed.D.) from Nova Southeastern University in Healthcare. A master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Clinical Psychology. A bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Forensic Psychology as well as an associate degree in Law Enforcement where upon post-graduation she was the first woman on a 95-man private industrial police department. She is a member of the Impacted Family & Friends Division of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS).

The United States is still reeling from the trauma of mass shootings. Within that violence were a number of murder-suicides that left too many voices still unheard, too many stories still untold, and too many families buried under neighborhood, community and national prejudice,
discrimination and judgement. It’s long passed time to bring this public health issue out of the shadows and shatter that taboo laden silence. Talk saves lives, so let’s talk. In response, Dr. carterMartinez will livestream an educational conversation on Saturday, May 15th, 7:00 pm EDT titled: “Trauma: The Great Equalizer.” The description is that “There is the day before the trauma, and then there is the moment of the traumatic event. What happens between these two moments in time, seemingly changes one’s life forever, as tomorrow never seems to come.”

Because this will be a three-part webinar series on Trauma, the first session will focus on building a basic understanding of “what Trauma is” because the basics are very important. We need a foundation that we can build upon going forward, but first, we must create a solid theoretical and practical foundation. What is trauma? How does trauma look? How does trauma feel? What is it like to live with trauma? Do we always understand that “we are living with trauma?” Does trauma change us? How would we know? What can we do? Within this first webinar, we will begin to thread the needle that will create the connection between trauma and the crises of suicide as well. Within this webinar series, we have a very unique opportunity that will allow us to shed light on the presence of trauma within the realm of the crises of suicide and the family that is affected. It is through this awareness that we will be able to show the pathway to recovery from living in the aftermath of trauma. This livestream is a follow up to the May 6th webinar “The Psychology of Murder-Suicide” delivered by Dr. Thomas Joiner. Both sessions are components of an 8-part, groundbreaking series to address “The Complexity of Murder-Suicide.”

When asked how she see’s herself as a trauma specialist, Dr. carterMartinez responded, “First and foremost I am a compassionate listener and a therapeutic storyteller. Taken together with my work as a Compassionate Trauma Recovery Practitioner is my passion for working with those fractured spirits who have been wounded by personal traumatic events in a manner that invites all, on the journey from trauma to healing through empathy and compassionate trauma recovery, always holding space for the Voices of Silence among us.”

Dr. carterMartinez’s May 15th livestream will be followed by Stephanie Willard on May 21 with a 2-hour live webinar, “Effect on a Family and the Ripples Beyond: A Unique Perspective after a Murder- Suicide.” Eric Kussin and Dr. Bart Andrews will engage in a one-hour livestream on May 27th to discuss the role of science and a lived experience perspective with media, messaging and truth related to murder-suicide – “Why the Media’s Portrayal of Murder-Suicides is Setting the Convo Back: A Conversation.“ They will be followed on June 4th by Dr. Mike Anestis. In a 2-hour live webinar, Dr. Anestis will clarify how and why firearms play a central role in firearm suicide, learning more about how firearms increase the risk for suicide and then what we can do to decrease that risk

Kevin Hines is an award-winning brain/mental health and suicide prevention activist, entrepreneur, multiple award-winning filmmaker, best-selling author, international educator and speaker who reaches audiences with his story of an unlikely survival and his strong will to live. On June 7th, Kevin will host a 90-minute livestream roundtable conversation with all of the series’ “voices” to engage in hoped for takeaways for the audiences and identify areas of action and next steps to tear down the barriers of judgement around murder-suicide and marginalization of the families impacted. We must do better. Suicide prevention is everyone’s business. We must bring this public health topic out of the whispering shadows of discrimination and prejudice (aka stigma) into the light to save lives. To achieve that goal, we need more people willing to step up and join the conversation.

Dr. carterMartinez will wrap up the series with two more livestreams, “The Trauma of Suicide: Frozen in Time” on June 10th and “Trauma: Fractured Spirits – How do traumatic events happen in our lives?” on June 24th.

To access Dr. carterMartinez’s livestream for May 15th, contact: director@avoiceatthetable.org for the links (YouTube and Facebook).

For more details on the additional webinars and livestreams:
http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/tapestryofvoices.html

“The Complexity of Murder-Suicide – A Tapestry of Voices” is a production of A Voice at the Table, a grassroots movement for families impacted by the suicidal experiences of loved ones.
Producers are Annemarie Matulis and Tracey Medeiros.


For the Media: Responsible reporting on suicide, including stories of hope and resilience, can prevent more suicides. Please visit the Suicide Reporting Recommendations for more information.

About A Voice at the Table: A Voice at the Table http://www.avoiceatthetable.org/index.html was founded in 2014 as a companion to the documentary, A Voice at the Table https://vimeo.com/92330799 - A call to action to bring the lived experience voices of suicide attempt survivors to all tables within suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. As a grassroots movement, it has since expanded and become the national "home base" forum for the family & friends emotionally impacted & traumatized by the suicidal experiences of loved ones. A movement: a group of people working together to advance their shared ideas. A forum: a place, meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular concern can be exchanged, in this case, nationally and internationally. For more information: director@avoiceatthetable.org

Annemarie Matulis
A Voice at the Table
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