Talk Saves Lives

Jill Harkavy-Friedman, PhD is the Senior Vice President of Research and leads the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s research program to advance the field of suicide prevention. AFSP's research program provides funding to research grants, offers workshops and training to researchers, and disseminates research findings to increase public awareness and support advocacy in mental health and suicide prevention. With over 35 years of experience as a clinician and a suicide prevention researcher, she is passionate about translating research into practice, publishing over 100 peer-reviewed articles and training clinicians around the nation. She assists with AFSP’s development of programs and messages that reflect best practices and current research. She works with other national and international research organizations to help set the suicide prevention research agenda and encourage innovative research.

Dr. Harkavy-Friedman earned her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and her PhD. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida. She completed her internship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. In 1984, she joined Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, establishing the Adolescent Depression and Suicide Program. In 1989, she moved to Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute where she is an associate professor in the department of psychiatry.  She joined the staff AFSP in 2011. She maintains a clinical practice in Manhattan.