ABOUT THE CONFERENCE "Suicide prevention is everybody's business."

There is an alarming rate of depression and suicide among adolescents. In this conference, leading experts in the areas of developing and evaluating preventive and treatment programs for depressed and suicidal adolescents and their family members will discuss how to address and treat such adolescents. There will be an examination of the incidence, impact and developmental pathways of suicidal behavior, along with consideration of the treatment implications of recent findings on the neurophysiological and cognitive development of adolescents. A critique of the "state of the art" of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for depressed and suicidal youths will be provided. How to implement both school-based and community-based preventive and treatment interventions will be considered. Practical ways to tailor treatments to meet the needs of adolescents, focusing on the nature of the "suicidal mind" and the role of peer influences, will be demonstrated. Such topics as the impact of school bullying ("bullycide"), training "gatekeepers," risk assessment strategies, parent-adolescent family-based interventions and treatment nonadherence will be covered.

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