Anna Baran

MD (Jagiellonian University, Cracow), PhD (Lodz Medical University, Lodz) and MBA (Stockholms University) with over 15 years of experience in working in suicide prevention (since 2005), working in psychiatry (since 1995) and experience in project management with sustainable and high impact. Psychiatrist and certified suicidologist.

Expert in Working Group on Prevention of Suicide and Depression at Public Health Council Ministry of Health, Poland (2016-)

Chairperson of the Uppsala-Örebro Suicide Preventive Network by NASP (2005-2015)

Member of the Regional Network on Suicide Prevention in Region Sörmland (2014-2015) and Region Blekinge (2019-2022)

Work experience:

2023: Co-leader of Task 8 (Monitoring the epidemiological situation, suicidal behaviour, social attitudes) of National Strategy of Prevention of Suicidal Behaviours. Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw. Poland.

2016-2022: Senior consultant psychiatrist and researcher in the Adult Psychiatry Department, Region Blekinge. Sweden.

2022: Co-leader of Task 6 (Education in suicide prevention) of National Strategy of Prevention of Suicidal Behaviours. Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw. Poland.

2005-2015: Senior consultant psychiatrist and researcher in the Adult Psychiatry Department, Region Sörmland. Sweden.

1995-2004: Psychiatrist. Psychosomatic Department, Rydygier Specialist Hospital, Krakow, Poland.

Teaching

Are you interested in learning SUICIDE PREVENTION? 

You are at the right place! Here you will find courses that will allow you to get important knowledge and skills e.g. safety planning, communication, collaboration, other evidence-based interventions, postvention, destigmatization and much more.

You are free to choose one of our online, self-paced, free courses developed by a strategic partnership of 8 partners (including 3 universities) from 5 countries during 3 years in a grant co-financed by the European Union program Erasmus+.

Courses (first edition) had over 1000 registered participants from 21 countries e.g. Poland (most participants), Hungary, Norway, Austria, Ukraine, Finland, Spain, Great Britain, Ireland, Romania, the US, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and South Africa. Participants who filled in the Survey took the ELLIPSE Gatekeeper+ Course in Suicide Prevention mostly because:

• they thought that suicide prevention was somehow connected with their studies (26%),
• they wanted to get skills necessary for their work and future career (39%),
• they like to learn new things (23%) and
• other causes (12%).                    

Over 95% of participants who filled in the Survey after taking the ELLIPSE Gatekeeper+ Course in Suicide Prevention thought that the course was just right (not too difficult and not too easy). For 81% of participants, the course was interesting and 90% would recommend it to others!  

We always appreciate your evaluation of the course you take by filling survey at the end of the course, as it will result in improvements. Let us know if you notice any mistakes in your language version :-)! 

Research

Schmeckenbecher, J., Lentner, S., Emilian, C. A., Plener, P. L., Baran, A., & Kapusta, N. D. (2023). E-learning as a tool of suicide prevention training: A meta-analysis and systematic review. Death studies, 1–13. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2297058

Schmeckenbecher, J., Rattner, K., Cramer, R. J., Plener, P. L., Baran, A., & Kapusta, N. D. (2022). Effectiveness of distance-based suicide interventions: multi-level meta-analysis and systematic review. BJPsych open, 8(4), e140. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2022.526

Pirkis, J., Gunnell, D., Shin, S., Del Pozo-Banos, M., Arya, V., Aguilar, P. A., Appleby, L., Arafat, S. M. Y., Arensman, E., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Balhara, Y. P. S., Bantjes, J., Baran, A., Behera, C., Bertolote, J., Borges, G., Bray, M., Brečić, P., Caine, E., Calati, R., … Spittal, M. J. (2022). Suicide numbers during the first 9-15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-existing trends: An interrupted time series analysis in 33 countries. EClinicalMedicine, 51, 101573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101573

Baran, A., Gerstner, R., Ueda, M., & Gmitrowicz, A. (2021). Implementing Real-Time Data Suicide Surveillance Systems. Crisis, 42(5), 321–327. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000829

Pirkis, J., John, A., Shin, S., DelPozo-Banos, M., Arya, V., Analuisa-Aguilar, P., Appleby, L., Arensman, E., Bantjes, J., Baran, A., Bertolote, J. M., Borges, G., Brečić, P., Caine, E., Castelpietra, G., Chang, S-S., Colchester, D., Crompton, D., Curkovic, M., ... Spittal, M. J. (2021). Suicide trends in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time-series analysis of preliminary data from 21 countries. The Lancet Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00091-2

Koszewska, I., Walawender, E., Baran, A., Zielinski, J., & Ustrnul, Z. (2019). Foehn wind as a seasonal suicide risk factor in a mountain region. Psychiatria psychologia kliniczna. (Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology), 19 (1), 48-53. https://doi.org/10.15557/PiPK.2019.0007

Piech, B., Kiałka, M., Baran, A., Mrozińska, S., Janeczko, M., Humeniuk, E., & Milewicz, T. (2017). Wpływ warunków i stylu życia na poziom lęku kobiet w okresie połogu: badanie ankietowe. Przegląd Lekarski, 74(3).

Baran A., Kropiwnicki P. Advantages and pitfalls of the Swedish National Program for Suicide Prevention 2008. Psychiatr Psychol Klin 2015, 15(4), p.175-181. https://doi.org/10.15557/PIPK.2015.0026

E-BOK:

Baran A., Biechowska D., Indries K., Kremser T., Kwiatkowska A., Lien L.,Makara-Studzińska M., Midtomme I., Milewicz T., Mlodozeniec A., Oriold K., Solbakken H. H., Stensmark M., Wojczakowski S., Zaluski M., Pawelec R. (2022). Learning from Lived Experience. The Jagiellonian University, Publishing House, Cracow.

A CHAPTER IN THE E-BOOK:

Baran, A., Lester, D., Krysinska, K., & Gmitrowicz, A. (2022). The impact of socioeconomic factors on the variation of regional suicide and homicide rates in Poland: 2007-2016. Suicide Studies, 2022, 3 (4) ISSN 2771-3415 Editorial Board: John F Gunn, III PhD David Lester, PhD, 3(4), 49-62

Baran A. Suicide Victim: Psychiatric Case, Hero, Criminal Offender or a Normal Person? In Searching for the Words: How Can We Tell Our Stories of Suicide?  Eds. M. Kulp, N. Williams Korteling and K. McKay. E-bok. 2013. p.25-38.

Commissions

Co-chair of a newly founded SIG (Special Interest Group) Education and Training in Suicide Prevention (SIG ETIPS) in IASP (International Association of Suicide Prevention).

1 Sept. 2023 - 31 Aug. 2024 - International co-leader of the ELLIPSE POSTVENTION project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. The aim of the grant is to develop an online educational course in postvention in Swedish, English and Polish, as well as three webinars: for young people, suicide loss survivors and professionals working in healthcare and social care. The first webinar is available at the website: https://ellipse.12stepsplan.com

1 Sept. 2019 – 31 Dec. 2022 - International Coordinator of the ELLIPSE project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. Project ID. 2019-1-SE01-KA203-060571. The aim of the grant was to develop an online educational program in suicide prevention for students in higher education. ELLIPSE (E-Lifelong Learning In Prevention of Suicide in Europe). Co-developer of a web application called 12 Steps Safety Plan in English, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Hungarian and Polish. 

Coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Conference in Örebro (2015) and of three regional conferences as a coordinator of the Uppsala-Örebro Network in Suicide Prevention, as well First International Seminar in Education in Suicide Prevention (Sept 10, 2021).

Co-author of three handbooks for media professionals and other media content creators: Polish guidelines in suicide prevention for media and those who talk with media, as well as a handbook for postvention for schools. Author of a number of posters at national and international conferences and articles in suicidology. Member of IASP (International Association of Suicide Prevention) and EPA Suicidology Section (a national representative for Poland).