MIRECC / CoE
Rocky Mountain MIRECC for VA Suicide Prevention - Georgia Gerard MSW LCSW

Updated: 5 March 2019
Biography
Georgia Gerard, MSW, LCSW
- Title: Social Worker
Contact:
720-723-6563br />Georgia.Gerard@va.gov - Biography: Georgia obtained a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver with a focus on family systems in 2012. Her previous experience focused on child welfare at the Denver Department of Human Services as well as medical social work at Swedish Hospital. Georgia joined the MIRECC in 2012 and has filled the role of Research Assistant for various projects, Co-Investigator and is currently a study clinician.
- Clinical and Research Interests: Posttraumatic stress disorder and co-morbid substance use disorders, Problem-Solving Therapy, suicide risk and prevention in Veterans that experience Moral Injury, family systems interventions for suicide prevention.
Recent Publications
Pease, J.L., Billera, M., & Gerard, G.R. (2015). Military culture and the transition to civilian life: Suicide risk and other considerations for providers. Social Work, 61(1), 83-85. doi: 10.1093/sw/swv050
Gerard, G.R. & Billera, M.B. (2016). Seeking safety for suicide prevention in veterans: Coping with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders and suicidal ideation and behavior. Manuscript in preparation.
Presentations
Gerard, G.R. (2014, July). The New PTSD: Implications for Social Work Best Practices and Suicide Prevention. Poster session presented at NASW 2014 National Conference, Social Work: Courage, Hope, and Leadership. Washington, DC.
Billera, M., Gerard, G.R., Pease, J.L., Clemans, T.A., Davidson, C.L., &Olson-Madden, J.H. (2014, July). Seeking Safety for Suicide Prevention: An interventional pilot study for veterans with suicidal ideation, PTSD, and substance use disorders. Poster session presented at NASW 2014 National Conference, Social Work: Courage, Hope and Leadership. Washington, DC
Billera, M., Gerard, G.R., Clemans, T.A., Pease, J.L., Davidson, C.L., &Olson-Madden, J.H. (2014, April). Seeking Safety for Suicide Prevention: A pilot study. Poster session presented at VA Research Days, Denver, CO
Pease, J.L., Dorsey-Holliman, B., Gerard, G.R., &Brenner, L.A. (2015, April). Veterans Enrolled in College: Untold Stories of the Transition to Civilian Life and the Reintegration Process. Symposium presented at 48th Annual American Association of Suicidology Conference. Atlanta, GA
Gerard, G.R. (2015, October). “Problem Solving Therapy.” Lecture given at Metropolitan State University, Denver, CO.
Gerard, G.R., Jankovsky, M., Billera, M., &Matarazzo, B.E. (April 2016). A bridge to care: The acceptability and feasibility of a Home-Based Intervention (HOME) for veterans at risk for suicide. Poster session presented at Eastern Colorado Health Care System VA Research Days. Denver, CO.
Gerard, G.R. (June 2016). Moral injury and veterans: Implications for social work best practices and suicide prevention. Poster session presented at 2016 NASW National Conference: Leading Change, Transforming Lives. Washington, DC.
Brenner, L.A., Barnes, S.M., Monteith, L.L., Homaifar, B., Gerard, G., Hoffberg, A.S., &Simpson, G.K. Evaluating the Acceptability and Feasibility of Problem Solving Therapy for Suicide Prevention among Veterans with Moderate to Severe TBI. 11th World Congress on Brain Injury. 2016 Mar 2-5; The Hague, Netherlands. Brain Injury, 30 (5-6),718-719. DOI: 10.3109/02699052.2016.1162060
Gerard, G.R., Barnes, S., Monteith, L., Hoffberg, A., &Brenner, L. (September 2016). Problem Solving Therapy for Suicide Prevention among Veterans with Moderate to Severe TBI: A Pilot Study of Acceptability and Feasibility. Presented at the Fourth Annual Military Social Work Conference. Austin, TX.
Media
Rocky Mountain Short Takes on Suicide Prevention: On Moral Injury and Suicide
21 September 2016
In this week's episode Adam discusses moral injury with Georgia Gerard, LCSW, a social worker at Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention. Moral injury is distinct but can also overlap with PTSD. It is important to tease out the differences and then help the individual back to a a place of acceptance.
Supporting material:
- Moral Injury in the Context of War
- Moral injury and moral repair in war veterans: A preliminary model and intervention strategy
- Killing in combat may be independently associated with suicidal ideation
- Moral injury, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in a military sample
The podcast is approximately 18 minutes long.
You can subscribe to the RM Short Takes Podcast on iTunes, Google Play or your favorite podcasts tool.
Categories: Suicide Prevention
