Suicidality Specialization

Lauren Hval, LMFT, specializes in suicidality, offering expertise in suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention across clinical practice, academic settings, and research. Her work is dedicated to supporting individuals, families, and communities through compassionate care, evidence-based interventions, and ongoing education.

Suicide Rapid Response:

In collaboration with the Oregon Health Authority and contracted through Lines for Life, I have been a part of Oregon’s Rapid Response Crisis Team since 2021. Through this work, I support school staff, students, and families following a crisis.

My services include care room support, universal screening for suicide risk, safety planning, therapeutic support, consultation, and educational presentations on topics such as grief and risk assessment.

I have experience conducting school-wide universal screening for suicide risk. When a student endorses suicidality or high-risk behaviors, I provide safety planning support and facilitate care coordination with the school and family to ensure appropriate follow-up and intervention.

Through the educational presentations I provide, I help school staff and families learn how to talk to children about suicide, recognize risk signs and symptoms, and identify where to seek help. I am passionate about ensuring communities have access to the information and resources needed to support children in navigating conversations about suicide, grief, and mental health.

With a commitment to providing compassionate care, I work to support students, families, and school communities impacted by crisis.

Big River Trainings:

I am trained in every Big River program, with over 100+ hours of training acquired. The Big River program is a statewide initiative supported by the Oregon Health Authority that aims to expand access to suicide prevention and intervention training. These trainings equip youth-serving professionals and community members with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively support individuals at risk and help prevent suicide.

In collaboration with the Oregon Pediatric Society, I helped adapt the Youth SAVE curriculum to better serve young adults ages 18 to 26. Youth SAVE for Young Adults equips professionals with the tools to assess and intervene with young adults experiencing thoughts of suicide, particularly in virtual settings. This adaptation ensures that providers can effectively support young adults in crisis and connect them with appropriate resources.

University of Oregon’s Suicide Prevention Lab:

Since 2019, I have been involved with the University of Oregon Suicide Prevention Lab, contributing to research on suicide prevention and program evaluation. My work has focused on implementing and assessing Big River programs, including Sources of Strength at both the secondary and elementary levels. I have conducted both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, developed logic models, and programmed surveys to support research initiatives. Additionally, I worked to engage stakeholders and vendors in the implementation process across school districts. As part of a broader research effort, I conducted key-informant interviews and focus groups to explore the effects of climate change on youth mental health, particularly within Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. This research was included in a published Oregon Health Authority report.