Suicide Prevention in Systems
SafeSide Provides...
SafeSide Prevention provides leadership consultation and workforce education for health, mental health, educational, and governmental organisations seeking to unite and inspire their mental health and primary care workforces to prevent suicide. We provide a framework, tools, templates, training, and data to strengthen organisational cultures for safety and prevention; promote best practices, policies, and pathways; and support your workforce with fresh, engaging ongoing education and development. Our flexible programs can be customised to support your specific goals, populations, and organisational needs.
SafeSide Serves...
SafeSide serves organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. SafeSide Australia has partnered with the State of New South Wales Toward Zero Suicide Initiative to train mental health teams statewide and with the Department of Veteran Affairs (Open Arms - Veterans & Families Counseling) to implement and deeply embed the SafeSide Framework in services nationwide. In the US, SafeSide has partnered with the State of Utah, the South Carolina Department of Social Services, and with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to disseminate primary care training through local chapters in all 50 states.
Core Values
More than Safety
Safety is essential, but not the final goal. We'll help you meet patient safety goals and regulations, but we aim higher: toward recovery, health, and happiness.
Healthy Team
We prioritize the health, prosperity, and connectedness of our team, so our partnership with you will be warm, productive, and uplifting.
Better Together: Clinical and Lived Experience
SafeSide educational programs are co-led by a suicide prevention expert and instructors with diverse lived experience.
Measure Your Impact
SafeSide training grew out of programs and studies conducted by Dr. Tony Pisani at the University of Rochester. Research on the approach is ongoing. We suggest metrics and provide data to assist our subscribers in measuring their impact and progress.
Meliora
Meliora (“always better!”) is a core value of SafeSide Prevention. We offer subscriptions, ongoing contact, and continually updated materials to keep up with advances in the field and to respond to feedback and requests from our subscriber community.
The SafeSide Team
Pedro Centeno, PhD
Clinical psychology + film/video production + massive creativity makes Pedro the perfect fit for producing powerful media to drive SafeSide programs and communications.
Phil Chapados
SafeSide powers workforce education through technology, creativity, and human connection. Drawing on his experience as a CTO in tech manufacturing, Phil keeps SafeSide thinking ahead, leveraging technology innovation toward the goal of zero suicide.
Mel Clark
Mel brings a professional balance of compassion, empathy, and determination to her work, with a goal to provide and find “the hope” for others. A long-time carer for her brother, a survivor of Adverse Childhood Experiences and someone who has transitioned beyond vicarious trauma in the workplace, Mel is committed to using her lived and living experiences to help shine a light on all things “family” and the importance of wellbeing, justice, healing and recovery.
Read more about Mel's story. Download a copy of her Caring Contact Cards here.
Sarah Donovan, PsyD
Sarah led a successful rollout of SafeSide as Director of Evidence-Based Practice in a large youth services organization. She liked it so much, she joined our team! Now Sarah wakes up each day thinking of new ways to leverage implementation science to support the transfer of learning to practice and outcomes.
Sam Fewings
Sam spent twenty years working in Human Resources and Insurance before dedicating himself to suicide prevention as an advisor and facilitator. Sam has lived experience of suicide and is passionate about stigma reduction and giving a voice to others with lived experience.
Tiyana Gostelow
Tiyana joins the SafeSide Prevention Team as our Program and Implementation Manager for the Australasian region. She brings with her more than 25 years of experience in clinical and senior leadership positions in mental health and suicide prevention.
Annie Lewis
With a background in journalism for regional and metro news outlets, Annie is bringing her skills in creating meaningful content to the communications and marketing team. Annie combines her passion for suicide prevention, and amplifying the voices of those with lived experience with her creativity and can-do attitude to support SafeSide in communicating and connecting with it's growing subscriber base.
Hannah Mang
As SafeSide’s Senior Video Producer and Editor, Hannah creates impactful video content and engaging learning modules for our partners across the world. She brings previous deep and varied experience in global commercial and film production.
Dan Mobbs
Before coming to SafeSide, Dan spent two decades working as a social worker and clinical educator across health, counselling and suicide prevention services. Dan is passionate about improving care for people with suicide concerns. He now channels this passion into ensuring that SafeSide’s programs fit the settings, populations and cultures they serve.
Kristina Zurich
A gifted teacher dedicated to helping people see the many reasons they have for living. She keeps the team thinking about what patients experience in the health and behavioral health care system.
Read more about Kristina's story.
Dan Murrie, PhD
A University of Virginia forensic psychologist who lends his violence prevention expertise to our programs. Dan and Tony are research and thinking partners for SafeSide’s risk formulation model.
Tony Pisani, PhD
Primary care psychologist, family therapist, and suicide prevention researcher at the University of Rochester Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide. Tony spent 10 years developing and road-testing the SafeSide framework and educational methods.
Read more about Tony's story.
Paul Scade, PhD
Paul has spent 20 years in the writing trade, first as an academic historian and then as a professional writer and editor. Paul is committed to the SafeSide mission and works across the organization to communicate SafeSide’s values, work, and research.
Tim Sheehan
Tim’s skills in technical services have been honed during a career spanning more than 30 years in tech. A leader who knows systems inside and out, Tim makes the complex look easy.
Jamie Thompson
Jamie joined SafeSide in 2023 as the inaugural General Manager for Australia. As a psychologist with 18 years’ experience in suicide prevention and related fields, and 11 years’ experience in management roles, Jamie brings the expertise, passion, and knowledge needed to deliver SafeSide’s goals at scale.
Ann Wood
Ann brings decades of experience in the corporate world helping global organizations succeed with major software implementations. Wanting to make a difference in suicide prevention, Ann now applies her talents to making sure our subscriber organizations have a clear path to success with the SafeSide Framework and training programs.
Essence Bentia
Essence Bentia (Ben) has built a career rooted in support and creativity, with experience spanning customer service, digital content creation, and social media management. Fully transitioning to executive assistance, Ben discovered a role that aligned with a talent for organisation and a drive to make a meaningful impact. Now, as Executive Assistant to SafeSide Prevention’s Founder and COO, Ben brings a proactive and versatile approach, enabling SafeSide’s leadership to focus on their mission of advancing global suicide prevention.