By Kristyn Heins, Ph.D.
The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC) identified a number of recommendations for improving suicide prevention efforts. Some of these included increasing suicide prevention training, improving access to resources, and promoting lethal means safety. The Consortium for Defense Psychology (CDP) has spent the past year targeting a few of these recommendations and increasing the effort to improve suicide prevention services.
One of the most notable efforts was the increase in offered trainings of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP). The CDP offered 69 CBT-SP trainings over the last 12 months. The two-day immersive training includes education on terms and theory, a specific focus on lethal means safety, and detailed review of the evidence based therapy. Participants engage in polls, small group discussions, and have opportunities to role play these new skills. Once someone has finished the two-day training, they are encouraged to engage in free CBT-SP consultation which is offered twice a week by CDP subject matter experts.
The CDP has also worked to engage adjacent providers, not just training therapists. The suicide prevention training for mental health technicians (MHTs), which is an interactive, instructor-led course, includes role play activities to reinforce learning in each of the key skills. The course provides an overview of the basic components of CBT-SP and how a MHT can support a patient engaged in CBT-SP. Additionally, a separate training tailored to prescribers provides education on the essential skills associated with suicide prevention. This includes safety planning and LMSC, while also providing modules on DOW recommendations and best practices for prescribing medication to patients experiencing increased suicide risk.
The CDP continues to evolve in how we are reaching providers. Over the past year a number of CDP Presents, our monthly webinar series, focused on suicide prevention. Inspiring presentations included navigating suicide in context of romantic relationships, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for suicide prevention, and prevention of harmful behaviors. One of the most engaging methods of reaching providers is through the Practical for Your Practice podcast. Episodes included topics like navigating multiple presenting problems that contribute to suicide risk, personal experience of suicide loss, and firearm safety.
The CDP considered how various presenting concerns can contribute to suicide risk. Knowing that suicidal thoughts do not develop in a vacuum, we considered what other diagnoses we should be addressing. This year marked the re-launch of CBT for Chronic Pain. There were nine Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Chronic Pain offerings this past year, each with a substantial number of actively engaged participants. The CDP has also incorporated training on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder evidence based therapies, understanding that traumatic experiences can contribute to the development and maintenance of suicidal thoughts.
We are excited for the next year and our continued push to train providers in evidence based therapies. In addition to our current efforts, we are incorporating a number of alternative learning opportunities including asynchronous training and microlearnings. We look forward to working towards the goal of expanding suicide prevention efforts and supporting our service members and veterans.
Interested in our work? Ready to join the effort? See our training calendar for a complete list of course offerings at https://cdp.usuhs.edu/training-schedule
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of War.
Kristyn Heins, Ph.D., is a Licensed Professional Counselor serving as a Military Mental Health Counselor for the Consortium for Defense Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. In this role, she supports the CDP’s efforts of training clinicians in evidenced-based practice focused on suicide prevention.