National Association of Retrospective Fatality Analysis Training (RFA)

RFA is a comprehensive exploration of the biopsychosocial and environmental factors that precede an individual's death by suicide.
About this Event

Our two-day virtual or in-person training prepares participants to conduct Retrospective Fatality Analysis, expanding upon the psychological autopsy methodology by adding increased breadth and depth. The RFA Process was developed to be used in a variety of contexts, including:
Informing suicide prevention efforts, survivor meaning making, research, legal testimony, equivocal death determinations, and postvention.
Requirements to attend the training:

Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or associate's degree/certification in a social science-related field
Experience with interviewing
Experience with loss survivors.

Please be aware that behind every suicide statistic there is a person with a family, and suicide loss survivors who are grieving.

Presenters:

Dr. Anne Kelly

Dr. Kelly served as Dean of the College of Business, Education, and Social Science and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Dakota Wesleyan University, where she taught since 2000. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno, and served on two South Dakota mental health task forces. Currently, Anne is a Suicide Postvention Technician for the federal government. In addition, she works with bereaved families as a fatality analyst. A Certified QPR and Adult Mental Health First Aid Trainer, she educates the public on suicide prevention, chairs the Community Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Coalition in Mitchell, SD, and serves on the Board of Lost&Found, a nonprofit focused on reducing suicide risk among adolescents and young adults.

D r. Shannon Harrison

Dr. Harrison is the Senior Project Analyst supporting the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Office in Alexandria, VA. She has been a practicing clinician for 27 years, including ten years at Ft. Carson’s Warrior Transition Unit, and Evans Army Hospital’s Child and Family Behavioral Health System. Having worked most of her career in acute care mental health settings, her valuable experience has inspired her to focus her clinical expertise in the area of suicide prevention. She is a Board Certified Diplomat, accredited as a School Suicide Prevention Specialist, a Certified Advanced-Child, Youth, and Family Social Worker, and a founding member of the National Association of Retrospective Fatality Analysts.

Janet Schnell, MSW, LCSW

Ms. Schnell is an expert in the field of suicide prevention, intervention, and post-suicide depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. She has received numerous awards for her activism in suicide prevention from county, state, and federal agencies. Janet is the President of Survivors of Suicide of Dubois County (SOS) and was chosen by the Indiana Suicide Prevention Network for their prestigious Torchbearer Award. She is a suicide prevention master trainer for Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and a trainer for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Janet is currently employed as a contractor to the federal government as a suicide postvention subject matter expert. As a public speaker, she shares her experience as a suicide loss survivor, becoming a social worker after her brother's death by suicide. Janet is a founding member of the National Association of Retrospective Fatality Analysts.