Eddie Subega, MFT, granted us the heartfelt wisdom of the richness of his 30 years of experience working with assessment and suicide prevention. Currently, a lead clinical supervisor with the Santa Clara County Suicide and Crisis Hotline, Mr. Subega’s crisis assessment and intervention experiences span the range from Alum Rock Counseling Center to the Santa Clara County Mobile Crisis Unit, and more. Refreshingly, Mr. Subega started out the luncheon with his brilliant smile and the humble confession that, I always felt I knew nothing!
He immediately blasted the idea that experts exist, proposing that we all have a piece of the wisdom that will heal hopelessness and despair. Soberly, Mr. Subega informed us that 93 people committed suicide last year in Santa Clara County - far outnumbering homicides.
Attempting to be completely in the present, here and now, following the client’s emotions in a non-directive way, and being unafraid to say, "I don’t know," are techniques Mr. Subega utilizes in joining in a nonjudgmental manner with a suicidal client. As clinicians, we do not have to hold all of the answers for our clients in crisis or be ?right? about their immediate needs, but we must connect with them in order to ensure their safety. If clinicians enter into the frenzy of "fixing" in the moment of crisis, Subega has witnessed how this destructively fuels the fire of fear, tension, and agitation in the moment.
Subega provided practical tips for obtaining appropriate responsiveness from EPS and other emergency services: 1) take time to assess the client thoroughly before sending the client to EPS, 2) call before they go, and 3) describe, with clarity, the urgency of the situation. When calling the police or sheriff’s office, clinicians may specifically ask for a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officer.
Subega brought us back to critical basics, reminding clinicians that bringing up suicide to a suicidal person gives permission for the person to speak their feelings, thus decreasing the suicide risk. Mr. Subega emphasized that clinicians need to value and utilize our interconnectedness as colleagues, and to depend upon one another as we learn to trust ourselves in supporting clients in extreme crisis.
Mr. Subega lavished upon us important reminders of self-care – a structural paradigm which we, as clinicians, need to draw from, in order to do our work effectively. To paraphrase Mr. Subega’s compassionate and encouraging words for clinicians: There’s only one of you, so don’t spoil it by trying to be someone else; You are the way you are and you’re not the way you’re not; You are just right as you are; and finally, You are enough. Mr. Subega imparted to us that as we continue to internalize that we are enough, and come to rely upon our community of Santa Clara County MFTs, we will find that we hold enough energy, support, and knowledge to be effective and supportive of each other, as we strive to provide excellent treatment and care to suicidal clients.
Author: Michelle Myers, MFT
Presented by: Eddie Subega, MFT
