Ashley Jacobs, from the International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF) will be joining #SPSM, Sunday 2/1/15, to chat with us about how she uses social media to serve IBPF’s mission, “to improve understanding and treatment of bipolar disorder through research; to promote care and support resources for individuals and caregivers; and to erase stigma through education.” Chat starts at 9pm CST.

The Tweets for this chat will be archived on Storify.

The IBPF was invited to join #SPSM due to it’s effective use of social media to engage the public about living with a bipolar disorder. They have an active facebook and twitter presence, and regularly post valuable content about bipolar disorders. If you, or your organization were considering how to better engage people about suicide prevention (or another mental health topic), IBPF does a *great* job and Ashley Jacobs is joining us to show us how. IBPF regularly posts and tweets well-written mainstream content about bipolar disorder, including public awareness materials, and content written by and for people with lived experience of bipolar disorder. IBPF also shares links to events, eBooks, and has a friendly and interactive presence. Basically you need to “like,” “follow” and tweet with IBPF; especially if you want to see how a mental health advocacy does social media right (and because they have high value/engagement content you’ll want to share).

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, and a leading cause of death around the world. People with Bipolar Disorders are at increased risk of death by suicide, giving #SPSM and IBPD an intersection of mission.

Ashley Jacobs holds a master’s degree in Social Work from University of Southern California. She is the Director of Internal Operations for International Bipolar Foundation. Over the several years Jacobs worked with the Board of Directors to expand the Foundation’s programs to over 65 countries, which includes increasing the number of webinars and lectures offered. She is an early adopter of technology and social media to engage the world on issues that affect people who live with Bipolar Disorders.