MIRECC / CoE

Empowering Veterans through Crisis Response Planning & the Safety Planning Interventionlving Therapy and Suicidality

August 24,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenters: Craig Bryan, PsyD, ABPP & Wendy Batdorf, PhD

This webinar will review CPG Recommendation #8, which relates to crisis response planning and safety planning. The presenters will review the evidence base for crisis response planning and the Safety Planning Intervention (SPI). They will review each type of plan, highlighting similarities and differences. Additionally, there will be a review of Advanced Training in the SPI (ASPI) in the VA. Attendees will be able to discuss how crisis response plans and safety plans positively impact Veteran outcomes by reducing suicidal behaviors.

Dr. Bryan is a board-certified clinical psychologist in cognitive behavioral psychology, and an internationally recognized expert on suicide prevention, trauma, and resilience. He is the Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and is the Division Director for Recovery and Resilience. Dr. Bryan's research has been funded by a wide range of agencies including the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, the Boeing Company, and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Dr. Batdorf is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 10 years' experience serving as a National Evidence-Based Training Program Coordinator within the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Dr. Batdorf currently manages the Advanced Training in the Safety Planning Intervention and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression Training Programs. Outside of her role at VA, she enjoys an active lifestyle of running, hiking, and traveling the world with her family.

(Emotion-Centered) Problem Solving Therapy and Suicidality

July 27,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Art Nezu, PhD, DHL, ABPP

Problem-Solving Therapy (PST), recently revised and renamed Emotion-Centered PST, is an evidenced-based psychosocial intervention found to be effective for a wide range of client populations and psychological problems. The purpose of this webinar is to describe the relevance of EC-PST as a treatment and prevention approach to reduce suicidality. As such, I will present a conceptual problem-solving model of suicide in addition to various clinical guidelines.

Dr. Nezu, a board-certified psychologist, is Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice and Associate Editor of the American Psychologist, as well as previous Editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. He has received numerous awards for his research and professional contributions including an honorary doctoral degree. He has been funded by NCI, NIMH, VA, DoD, Pew Charities Trusts, and the Infinite Hero Foundation. Dr. Nezu is the co-developer of Problem-Solving Therapy.

Perspectives on Firearm-Related Conversations in Clinical Settings

June 22,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Joseph Simonetti, MD, MPH

The purpose of this presentation is to provide a synthesis of current knowledge related to perspectives on conducting firearm-related conversations in clinical spaces. This presentation may be informative for clinicians, administrators and other stakeholders aiming to promote lethal means conversations among at-risk patients.

Dr. Simonetti is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is a board-certified internist who serves as a teaching attending in the Hospital Medicine Group at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center. He is a researcher within the VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention. His research focuses on reducing the burden of firearm-related suicide among Veterans.

WHO BIC as a Strategy to Prevent Suicide After Hospitalization

May 25,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Natalie Riblet, MD, MPH

The purpose of this presentation is to describe the World Health Organization's Brief Intervention and Contact Program (WHO BIC) intervention. The WHO BIC was developed and tested in low- and middle-income countries to prevent death by suicide after emergency room or hospital admission. The presentation will include a discussion of findings from individual trials of the WHO BIC program. In addition, I will share preliminary work that has been conducted in the Department of Veterans Affairs to understand the applicability of WHO BIC to Veteran populations.

Natalie Riblet graduated with an MD from Dartmouth Medical School in 2008 and an MPH from Dartmouth in 2012. She completed her residencies at Dartmouth, including general preventive medicine and public health in 2012 as well as general psychiatry in 2014. She developed a VA adaptation of the World Health Organization Brief Intervention and Contact Program. In Natalie's current research roles, she is focused on identifying and testing interventions to prevent death by suicide.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention

April 27,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Gregory K. Brown, PhD

In 2019, the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide strongly recommended "using cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions focused on suicide prevention for patients with a recent history of self-directed violence to reduce incidents of self-directed violence". The overall purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP) including the key cognitive and behavioral strategies that are used to target suicidal behavior and the evidence supporting its use.

Dr. Brown is an internationally renowned researcher whose work has led to transformational advances in the treatment of suicidal individuals such as developing the Safety Planning Intervention and Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention with his colleagues. Dr. Brown is a Research Psychologist at the Corporal Michael J Crescenz VA Medical Center and Master-Trainer with the Evidenced-Based Psychotherapy (EBP) section of the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention where he co-developed training programs for VA providers to use EBPs to reduce Veteran suicide risk.

Evidence-Based Practice in Suicide Risk Screening and Evaluation: Why, What, How, and When?

March 9,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Nazanin Bahraini, PhD

Routine screening for suicide risk in healthcare settings has been an area of considerable debate. However, an accumulating body of evidence indicates that suicide risk screening and follow up evaluation are critical components of effective, patient-centered suicide risk management. The purpose of this webinar training is to provide an overview of evidence-based recommendations for suicide risk screening and evaluation and to discuss strategies for implementation of these practices in routine healthcare settings.

Dr. Bahraini is Director of Education and a Clinical Research Psychologist at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. Dr. Bahraini's research focuses on designing and testing adaptive strategies to improve implementation of evidence-based practices in suicide prevention. She is also interested in novel, transdiagnostic approaches that target common underlying processes across mental disorders.

Digital Delivery of Treatment Protocols as Upstream and Downstream Suicide Prevention Strategies: State of the Science

February 9,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenters: Lisa A. Brenner, PhD, ABPP & Carolyn Greene, PhD

Even prior to COVID-19, VHA committed significant resources towards web-based versions of evidence-based psychotherapies as a means of increasing access to care. These include interventions aimed at insomnia (Path to Better Sleep, CBT-I); and, managing stress (Moving Forward, Problem Solving Therapy). Both are also useful upstream suicide prevention interventions. Efforts are underway to develop a new web-based program to serve as a downstream suicide prevention intervention based on VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guidelines. This presentation discusses the current state of the science, and presents VHA digital resources, with the goal of increasing their use.

Dr. Brenner is a Board-Certified Rehabilitation Psychologist who serves as the Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). She is also a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Psychiatry, and Neurology at the University of Colorado. Her primary area of research interest is traumatic brain injury, co-morbid psychiatric disorders, and negative psychiatric outcomes including suicide. Dr. Brenner has numerous peer-reviewed publications and participates on national advisory boards.

Dr. Greene is a nationally recognized expert in using technology to increase access to high-quality healthcare. She is the National Manager of VA's award-winning program of web-based mental health resources found at www.VeteranTraining.va.gov. In addition to her role at VA, Dr. Greene is an Associate Professor at the University of Arkansas where she is the Director of Team Science at their Translational Research Institute and Associate Director of the KL2 Mentored Research Scholars Program.

Home Visit as a Suicide Prevention Strategy

January 12,  2021  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Bridget Matarazzo, PsyD.

Home visits are recommended in the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide. This training will inform attendees about the research done on home visits that led to this recommendation. This training will also describe a clinical program, called the HOME Program, that involves a home visit and has been implemented in VA.

Dr. Matarazzo is the Director of Clinical Services at VA's Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention. She is Co-Director of VA's Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program and leads a team that provides implementation support for multiple national VA suicide prevention programs, such as REACH VET and the VA Suicide Risk Identification Strategy. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine.

Suicide Risk Stratification and Documentation

December 15,  2020  12:00PM ET

Presenter: Dr. Hal Wortzel

Risk management is a necessity of mental health practice, and this requires a thoughtful approach to suicide risk assessment and management. Therapeutic risk management (TRM) is a process based upon clinical risk management, one that is patient-centered, supportive of the treatment process, and maintains the therapeutic alliance. A crucial element of TRM is risk stratification and documentation. This program will address risk stratification that attends to risk in terms of both severity and temporality, and will offer related documentation strategies.

Dr. Hal Wortzel is a forensic neuropsychiatrist at the Rocky Mountain MIRECC, where he serves as Director of Neuropsychiatric Consultation Services and Co-Director for the National Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program. He is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at of the University of Colorado, and serves as the Michael K. Cooper Professor of Neurocognitive Disease, and as Faculty for the Program in Forensic Psychiatry.

Perceived Barriers and Facilitators of Clozapine Use: A National Survey of Veterans Affairs Prescribers

November 17,  2020  12:00PM ET

Drs. Breanna Moody & Courtney Eatmon

Drs. Moody and Eatmon provided an overview of clozapine therapy and its role in suicide prevention for veterans with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. The presenters reviewed a recent study identifying the perceived barriers and facilitators to clozapine prescribing within the VA Health Care System and explored potential interventions for increasing clozapine utilization.

Ketamine and Esketamine Treatment: Implications for VA Suicide Prevention

October 7,  2020  12:00PM ET

Drs. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, PhD & Perry Renshaw, PhD, MD, MBA

During this webinar, Drs. Yurgelun-Todd and Perry reviewed recent clinical trials reporting rapid reductions in suicidal ideation (SI) and depressive symptoms following administration of ketamine and esketamine. The presenters summarize the evidence supporting use of ketamine and esketamine in patients with suicidal ideation and major depressive disorder, as well as, highlight the implications of ketamine and esketamine research for VA suicide prevention.

It IS That Simple: Nondemanding Caring Contacts for Suicide Prevention

September 10,  2020  12:00PM ET

Dr. Kate Comtois & Amanda Kerbrat, LCSW

During this webinar, Dr. Comtois and Ms. Kerbat will walk through VA/DoD CPG Recommendation #13 in detail which suggests offering periodic caring communications following a psychiatric hospitalization for suicidal ideation or suicide attempt. The session will review Caring Contacts, an intervention that has been shown to reduce suicidal ideation, attempts, and death. Additional discussion will describe current policies and guidance within VHA that support providing this treatment.

The Status of VA Ketamine & Esketamine Services and Implications for Suicide Prevention

August 27,  2020  12:00PM ET

Dr. Ilse Wiechers

During this webinar, Dr. Wiechers provided a review of Recommendation #10 in the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide. This recommendation suggests offering ketamine infusion as an adjunctive treatment for short-term reduction in suicidal ideation in patients with the presence of suicidal ideation and major depressive disorder. The session walked through the CPG recommendation in detail and review the evidence supporting use of ketamine in patients with treatment resistant depression and severe suicidal ideation as well as the limitations of the existing literature. Additional discussion described current policies and guidance within VHA that support providing this treatment.

Lethal Means Safety: Evidence-Base, Current Practices, and Next Steps

July 28,  2020  12:00PM ET

Dr. Joseph A Simonetti

During this webinar, Dr. Simonetti reviewed the current evidence supporting recommendations to promote lethal means safety for individuals at risk of suicide, the current state of clinical practice and research, and critical next steps in research, education and clinical practice for moving forward.

Due to technical difficulties, this webinar was not recorded. Please visit the Rocky Mountain MIRECC's Lethal Means Safety website for related training and more information on lethal means safety.

An Introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy

June 30,  2020  12:00PM ET

Dr. Sara J. Landes

During this webinar (presented and recorded on June 30, 2020), Dr. Sara Landes provided an overview of DBT, focused on biosocial theory for those new to DBT and those who want to make better referrals to DBT.

Note: No CEUs are available for this webinar