What if you could share life lessons in resilience and post-traumatic growth from people who got through their own suicidal crises? What if you could enhance your training with wisdom from people who survived pain at suicidal intensity?
Imagine how powerful your words of encouragement could be if they were backed by authentic voices of experience.
At age 19 I was totally sure that my life was over. It wasn’t. In the decades of suicide prevention advocacy since then I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my own experiences as well as benefit from crossing paths with many amazing individuals and organizations.
I can’t wait to introduce you to them, perhaps as you’ve never seen them before. You’ll hear their insights and practical guidance. You’ll also gain a sense of the human side of suicide prevention experts, and the broad spectrum of expertise held by individuals who have lived through a suicidal crisis.
This is suicide prevention and life promotion. Let’s Explore Life with Lived Experience (ELLE).
In 2020, approximately 46,000 people in the US died by suicide. In the same year, 12.2 million adults in the US seriously considered suicide, but did not die. What can we do to support the recovery and growth of the millions of people who lived through a suicidal crisis?
ELLE is for you if you’ve learned about suicide prevention or crisis intervention and then asked: “What comes next?” What happens after we’ve successfully prevented a suicide? What happens after the crisis services are completed
If you have long-term counseling relationships with people who have survived a suicidal experience, then ELLE is for you!
If you believe in the possibilities of the Recovery Model in behavioral health, then ELLE is for you!
If you’re interested in resilience or post-traumatic growth after a suicidal crisis, then ELLE is for you!
If you’ve ever sat with someone in crisis and honestly believed in their potential for a positive future, then ELLE is for you!
I’m DeQuincy Meiffren-Lézine, a suicide attempt survivor who has been active in suicide prevention since 1996.
Following advocacy work on the road to my Sc.B. from Brown University I earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA. I went on to study public health approaches to suicide prevention at the University of Rochester. Near the end of my time as a postdoctoral fellow I wrote the book Eight Stories Up, blending guidance from clinical research and lived experience.
While serving as the principal author on The Way Forward for the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, I became the inaugural Chair of the Attempt Survivor and Lived Experience Division of AAS and served as a Co-Chair of the Consumer Survivor Committee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In 2015, I was honored to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the SAMHSA Voice Awards.
As the Director of the Lived Experience Academy I’m excited about the opportunity to share my insights and perspectives with you.
Please note: No counseling is provided through this website.
If you are thinking about suicide I urge you to call the Lifeline at 800-273-8255
(If outside the US, consult with https://findahelpline.com/)