About SafeSide Prevention

Suicide Prevention in Systems

SafeSide Prevention delivers a systems-based approach to suicide prevention. Our programs cultivate a healthy, cohesive workforce, ready to respond and supported when suicide occurs. SafeSide Prevention Founder and University of Rochester Professor Tony Pisani provides an overview of Suicide Prevention in Systems (Pisani, Moutier, & Stahl, 2021; Pisani & Boudreaux, 2023), how this relates to Zero Suicide, and the programs SafeSide offers to advance this approach.
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SafeSide Provides...

SafeSide Prevention strengthens organisations to prevent suicide. Our flexible programs can be tailored to your organisation's goals and needs. Alongside our programs, we offer:

  • Leadership consultation
  • Workforce education
  • Policy and practice review and recommendations
  • A practical framework for safety and prevention
  • Tools, templates, and data to support your efforts.
Safeside team

SafeSide Serves...

SafeSide serves organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, including:

  • Australian Department of Defence: As part of the commitment to continuous improvement, Defence has partnered with SafeSide Prevention to optimise the Suicide Prevention Program. The Project informs culture, policies and education, promoting the shift from risk prediction and stratification to risk assessment and formulation focusing on person-centred prevention and safety planning.
  • The Western Australian Mental Health Commission: The Mental Health Commission of Western Australia engaged SafeSide Prevention to explore how its programs could complement the suicide prevention work already underway in the state.
  • Te Whatu Ora (New Zealand Health) Districts, including Hawke’s Bay, Counties Manukau and Health Southern, as well as Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) such as WellSouth, use the SafeSide Framework.

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.

Meet the SafeSide Faculty

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PROGRAM COORDINATOR/FAMILY ADVOCATE (SAFESIDE AUSTRALIA)

Mel Clark

Mel brings compassion, empathy, and determination to her work, striving to provide hope for others. As a long-time carer for her brother and a survivor of Adverse Childhood Experiences, she draws on her lived experience to highlight the importance of family, wellbeing, justice, healing, and recovery. Download her Note Cards here.

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Scientific Advisor

Anna Defayette, PhD

Mentored by Tony at the University of Rochester, Anna is a suicide prevention researcher and clinical psychologist. Her passion for the SafeSide Framework was sparked while participating in a SafeSide workshop, finding that the key principles are deeply aligned with her own clinical approach. Anna joined SafeSide because she is passionate about making research findings more accessible to others and using data to improve everyday clinical practice.

Sarah Donovan
Senior Vice President of Programs and Services

Sarah Donovan, PsyD

Sarah's journey with SafeSide began when she rolled out SafeSide in a large youth-serving organisation, building on her 15-year career as a psychologist working with youth and families. Relying on clinical experience and a passion for implementation, Sarah and her team develop programs and services that are impactful, innovative, and evidence-based.

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Consulting Faculty

Anna Kawennison Fetter

Anna Kawennison Fetter, is an enrolled member of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. She is a postdoctoral fellow in the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A counseling psychologist by training, Dr Fetter’s work focuses on promoting mental health equity through a strength-based, structural, and culturally congruent lens.

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DIRECTOR OF WORKFORCE EDUCATION & INNOVATION

Dan Mobbs

Dan Mobbs is a social worker with over 20 years of experience and an extensive background in clinical education across mental health and community services. As Director of Workforce Education and Innovation, he leads the adaptation and development of evidence-based programs to meet partner and community needs, ensuring best practices. Dan maintains a small clinical role supporting people after suicidal crises and served on the Service System Working Group, contributing to Australia's National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Dan Murrie Ph D
VIOLENCE PREVENTION

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 Ph D
CHIEF SCIENTIFIC ADVISOR

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.

Dean S. Seneca
Consulting Faculty

Dean S. Seneca

Dean S. Seneca, the CEO of Seneca Scientific Solutions+, a Public Health and Urban and Regional Planning LLC. In this position, he provides capacity-building assistance for Tribal Nations, States, Regions, Cities, and Territories in economic and community development that embraces the concepts of “healthy places for healthy people".

Peter Wyman
Scientific Advisor

Peter Wyman

Peter Wyman is Co-Director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester. He leads the Network Health Prevention Science Program, where his work intersects behavioural science, developmental epidemiology, and social network methods. Dr. Wyman and his team developed the Connect Program suite of interventions.

Kristina Mossgraber
LIVED EXPERIENCE FACULTY & INSTRUCTOR

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.

Meet the SafeSide Team

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Executive Assistant

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.

Tiyana Gostelow
Director of Operations, SafeSide Australia

Tiyana Gostelow

Tiyana Gostelow serves as Director of Operations at SafeSide Prevention, leading the delivery and implementation of suicide prevention programs across Australia to ensure operational systems support quality outcomes. She brings significant expertise in system redesign, co-production, and evidence-informed implementation from her work in government and not-for-profit sectors. A values-driven leader, Tiyana is recognised for her collaborative approach and unwavering commitment to workforce wellbeing and culturally responsive care.

Annie Lewis
CONTENT AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

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 Corcoran
SENIOR VIDEO PRODUCER AND EDITOR

Hannah Corcoran

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.

Paul Scade Ph D
WRITER & EDITOR

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
DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SERVICES & SUPPORT

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 2024
Head of Strategic Partnerships and Development

Jamie Thompson

As a psychologist with more than 20 years of experience in suicide prevention and mental health and 13 years of experience in management roles, Jamie brings the expertise, passion, and knowledge needed to deliver SafeSide's goals. With those goals in mind, Jamie has transitioned from General Manager to Head of Strategic Partnerships and Development, focusing on expanding SafeSide's reach and impact.

Ann Wood
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

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.