The 2022 STAR-Center Conference will be offered virtually once again this year via live streaming using Zoom. The conference will take place on May 6, 2022 from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.  

Keynote Speakers

Preteen Suicide and Suicidal Behavior:  Assessment and Prevention

Arielle H. Sheftall, PhD
Principal Investigator, Center for Suicide Prevention and Research
Center for Health Equity and Outcomes Research
Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health

This Can’t Wait… Giving Educators the Tools: The Need to Understand and Address Students’ Mental Health Concerns

Mary Margaret Kerr, EdD
Professor of Health and Human Development, University of Pittsburgh

STAR-Center is a suicide prevention program for teens and young children within the UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry. From its inception in 1986, the program has been primarily funded through an appropriation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to the University of Pittsburgh. STAR-Center is a program that combines clinical and outreach services designed to combat the problem of child and adolescent suicide. We provide outpatient assessment and treatment for depressed and anxious children and teens. We also offer acute treatment to depressed and suicidal teens via our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).

Our annual conferences strive to disseminate what we have learned about best practice clinical care into practical guidelines for educational and community settings. STAR Center is devoted to providing training opportunities for students and psychiatric residents as well as contributing to the future development of research designed to study the pressing issues related to child and adolescent suicide.

For additional information regarding presenters or presentations, please go to the STAR-Center website or contact Jamey Covaleski at covaleskijj@upmc.edu.