Bristol County Suicide Prevention Advocates Release Blended Hearts Online Courses of Study

TAUNTON, MA, UNITED STATES, April 8, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- https://www.iffresources.com/courses

Steve Palm (The Kacie Project ( https://thekacieproject.org/), Joseph Marques, Tracey Pacheco Medeiros, & Annemarie Matulis, all members of the Bristol County Suicide Prevention Coalition, have come together to launch an online course version of the workshops they have delivered in person for the past 11 years.

The Oxygen Mask Axiom is the first course of study to be uploaded and is a free sample introduction (see link above). There are two self-study sessions included: Frozen in Time and Control Does Not Equal Love. Throughout 2025, twelve of the original in-person workshops will be transitioned to online, self-directed courses.

We have also uploaded a second course of study, The Sandbox Spirituality. This and future courses will have a modest fee to help underwrite basic costs of the program. And thanks to the Kacie Project and the Bristol County Suicide Prevention Coalition for also helping cover expenses. Throughout the summer and fall, we will be hosting virtual and in person roundtables to allow the opportunity to engage in discussion – bring your worksheets!

The Impacted Family & Friends (IFF) Blended Hearts Courses were developed in 2014 as a companion tool with the release of the documentary, A Voice at the Table – a call to action for suicide ideation & attempt survivors and their impacted family (IFF) & close friends. Originally, there were two separate sessions, one for ideation/attempt survivors and another for the IFFs. In 2016, they were transitioned to “blended hearts” workshops and included loss survivors. The worksheets have been tested, revised and updated in various locations nationwide. Their purpose is to help support family and friends emotionally impacted by a loved one’s suicidal experiences. These are intended for those who are not in immediate crisis or grief, but further along the recovery and healing path – a peer-to-peer check-in.

This action is the result of feedback from workshop participants. IFF Blended Hearts is not a “training,” but rather a conversational exchange in a roundtable setting which is easily adaptable to self-study/self-assessment. Topics to be addressed range from The Oxygen Mask Axiom, Frozen in Time, Control Does Not Equal Love, The Sandbox Spirituality, Anger, the Scorecard, Forgiveness, Dreams Matter, and The Wicked Awesome Wish List among others.

All worksheets are based on peer-to-peer lived experience. Each course will list at least 3 Objectives that participants can expect to achieve.
These roundtables and worksheets can be flexible and of support to:
• Suicide ideation/attempt survivors and their impacted family & friends (IFF) further along the recovery and healing path
• Bereaved loss survivors, survivors of murder-suicide – these are not grief support tools but for those further along the recovery & healing path for self-assessment/soul care
• IFFs of Substance Misuse or Problem Gambling/Online Gaming addiction that may lead to ideation
• All sessions can be adapted for young adults to seniors.

This program was created by Annemarie Matulis and Tracey Pacheco Medeiros. All rights reserved.
For more information contact: iffresources@gmail.com

Annemarie Matulis
Bristol County (MA) Suicide Prevention Coalition
+ +1 508-922-7278
iffresources@gmail.com
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