Secrets of Suicide: The Untold Story

5.5 CEs (This workshop does not meet the Suicide CE requirement for WA state) Recorded: December, 2025

NOTE: This workshop does NOT meet Suicide requirements.

Have you ever found yourself shocked or confused at the deaths by suicide of people in the public eye?

Have you lost a friend or family member to suicide?

A client who seemed to be doing better?

Can you recall the death by suicide of a celebrity who seemed to have it all, who never indicated having challenges with mental health?

If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions and ask yourself "WHY?" about each suicide that touches your life somehow, this course is for you!

When you attend "Suicide: The Untold Story and Why," you will learn the answers to the “secrets of suicide," the "WHYs," that you—as a counselor, parent, teacher, and/or friend or family member-- need to know.

Many deaths by suicide are confounding and seem to be a quirk of circumstance because the individual didn’t seem to be depressed or in distress – they looked good! Yet they died via suicide. WHY? A few of the public personalities who have died by suicide recently include Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, Robin Williams, Stephen “tWitch” Boss, Naomi Judd, and Chris Cornell. We find ourselves confused, unsure about the WHY of a death by suicide. They seemed to have everything—leading seemingly successful and happy lives.

Again, WHY?

Developed by an expert in suicide and chronic suicidality through education, experience, training, and personal lived experience, Randi has created this course to share the little-known facts about the personal side of suicide--the information that individuals who struggle with chronic suicidal ideation are reticent to tell you for a variety of reasons, including shame, fear of hospitalization, and the often- stigmatizing way in which our society views suicidality. This suicide specialist has lived experience, someone with chronic suicidality, surviving attempts to end her own life.

Randi will share the data that no one reports, the studies that are never published because those who are chronically suicidal are generally considered inappropriate for randomized, double-blind studies required to show outcomes or effects of clinical intervention. "Suicide: The Untold Story and Why" comes to you by Randi after spending years of clinical observation and professional treatment illustrating the recovery of those who have struggled with a precarious and often life-long battle with suicidality.

Individuals who survive their suicide attempt seem happy to be alive but sometimes report to their therapists that they are instead furious at their failure to die. WHY? When you attend "Suicide: The Untold Story and Why," you will learn the answers to the “secrets of suicide” that you—as a counselor, parent, teacher, and/or friend or family member-- need to know.

Just a few of the questions Randi will share the “secrets” of "WHY?" are: What is “starting from zero” on the suicide clock? What is the conspiracy of denial? What is “getting dead”? What are we doing to incentivize suicide? Why doesn’t hospitalization work in the long run to prevent suicide? Why can so many individuals struggling with chronic suicidality not tolerate stressful or problematic situations? How is suicide “insurance”? What is suicidal reverie? Why is it so dangerous? How does understanding the three different etiologies of suicide dictate our treatment? What is the Number One question you must ask your chronically suicidal client? Why is it vital to be a trauma-informed clinician when working with a suicidal client?

Objectives:

Build new deeper confidence working with individuals struggling with suicidality Understand the neurobiology of suicidality Learn the different etiologies of suicidality Learn the hidden meaning behind the verbiage involved with suicidal ideation Become comfortable explaining the neurobiology of suicidality to clients Understand the benefits of building a meaningful client support base for those struggling with chronic suicidality