Suicide Prevention
Presented by: Dr. Greg Vanderwal, PhD and Leila Salimova, PhD Student
12-1pm CST Sept 24, 2025
1 FREE General Knowledge CE Credit
Learning Objectives:
Learning Objective #1
By the end of the training, Participants will learn about different international approaches to suicide prevention.
Learning Objective #2
By the end of the training, Participants will learn about the speaker’s academic and work experience in suicide prevention.
Learning Objective #3
By the end of the training, Participants will learn from the showcase of international suicide prevention methods and be able to evaluate which approaches might be most applicable and relevant to their own context.
“Participants can apply this session by collaborating across global and local levels—drawing on international research, campus-specific strategies, and multidisciplinary expertise to strengthen suicide prevention efforts in their communities.”
About the Speakers:
Leila Salimova is a PhD student at the School of Social Work, University of Alabama, US. She obtained a Master of Social Work with Children and Youth degree, as an awardee of the European Joint Master Program, ISCTE-Lisbon, Portugal (Erasmus Mundus 2021-2023) and previously held degrees in teaching and law. She also took part in fellowships in gender (Japan) and psychology (Poland). Subsequently, for about 15 years she devoted herself professionally to youth, organizational, and community projects in Kyrgyzstan. She also held a position as a lecturer at the Bishkek State University, Kyrgyzstan where she taught courses on social work and social psychology.
Leila’s current interest focuses on an interdisciplinary approach involving integrating insights from psychology and social work to gain a holistic understanding of adolescent suicide. Her work aims to inform both academic discourse and practical interventions, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the development of effective strategies for preventing and addressing adolescent suicide in Kyrgyzstan.
Dr. Greg Vander Wal, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and has worked in collegiate mental health for 13 years. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Counseling Center and the Executive Director of Collegiate Recovery and Intervention Services (CRIS) at The University of Alabama. His clinical work has covered a wide range of developmental and clinical concerns in the college population. He has particular interest in working with sleep disorders, trauma, anxiety, and identity development. He has presented over 300 programs in his career, focusing on topics such as depression, adjustment, managing students in distress, and suicide prevention.