Event & Training Types: General Webinar

Screening for suicide risk is a recommended practice for primary care, hospital and emergency department care, behavioral health care, and crisis response intervention. Any person who screens positive for possible suicide risk should be formally assessed for suicidal ideation, plans, means availability, presence of acute risk factors, history of suicide attempts, as well as for the presence of protective factors.  This information should be synthesized by an appropriately trained clinician into a risk formulation that describes the person’s risk as well as serves as the basis for treatment and safety planning. While screening and assessment should be standardized, every client is unique. It is incumbent on the clinician to use the screening and assessment process to establish a collaborative relationship with the client and to ensure his or her safety and well-being.

This webinar will focus on screening and assessment for suicide in health care settings using a patient-centered approach.  The objectives for this webinar are to: (1) understand why screening is part of a comprehensive approach to suicide care; (2) determine how to select a suicide screener; (3) recognize the difference between screening and assessment; (4) identify the problems with categorizing risk into levels (low, medium, high) and gain exposure to an alternative approach for formulating and communicating about risk in a health system; and (5) identify a patient-centered approach to screening and assessment.

Screening and Assessment for Suicide in Health Care Settings

Partnerships consist of a group of individuals representing diverse organization or constituencies who agree to work together to achieve a common set of goals, generally within a formal structure. Partnerships can vary substantially in level, size, and scope of work.  The webinar will guide us through a discussion that focuses on the important role that building and sustaining effective partnerships can play in building local capacity to sustain efforts, overcoming shifting political structures, and measuring success as we create the future and environment for our children and the community. We look forward to hearing from each of you, if you haven’t already done so please take a few moments to fill out the registration.

Participants will learn:

• Strategies for reaching out to prospective partners they are considering for collaboration
• Key components of establishing MOUs or other formal agreements for suicide prevention
• Key considerations in reaching perplexing partners or settings
• Criteria to help consider what level and scope of partnerships to evaluate

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All too often people leave one care setting and do not successfully make it to another. To keep people from falling through the cracks as they transition to and from settings such as emergency departments, Indian Health Services, primary care, school counselors, outpatient mental health, and campus counseling centers, optimal care requires that there are standardized ways of helping the client, their caregivers, and the systems themselves overcome barriers to that transition. These include strategies like making a way to get an urgent MH appointment, getting informal caregivers to help in the transition, and more. This webinar framed some key considerations for successful care transitions, and gave an opportunity for peer discussion on strategies and plans.

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Third Party Referral Form

Continuity of Care Diagram

Continuity of Care Examples-What Your Grant Can Do

Safety planning and means reduction are integral parts of comprehensive suicide care. Clinicians should collaboratively develop safety plans with all persons identified as at risk for suicide, immediately after identifying the risk. The plan should include steps to restrict access to lethal means, balanced with respect for legal and ethical requirements under federal and state laws. In order to develop effective safety plans and organizational policies for lethal means assessment and counseling, training for staff is typically necessary and the input of those with lived experience is essential.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to (1) identify safety planning and lethal means reduction as part of a comprehensive Zero Suicide approach; (2) discuss ways to maximize the effectiveness of a safety plan; (3) develop an organizational policy for lethal means reduction; and (4) explain the importance of input from people with lived experience during safety planning and means reduction policy development.

Safety Planning and Means Reduction in Large Health Care Organizations

Safety Planning Means Reduction Transcript

Attendees will discuss lessons learned from health systems implementing the Zero Suicide Approach and strategies to overcome common barriers to success.

While talented, dedicated clinicians have made heroic efforts to work with suicidal clients, most behavioral health clinicians have never received any formal training in suicide care and treatment.  Individuals at risk for suicide who seek help from a behavioral health professional should expect to receive care that is research-informed, collaborative, and that focuses explicitly on suicide risk. Research suggests that practitioners who have received formal training in suicide care models have improved confidence, competence, and efficacy. In a comprehensive Zero Suicide approach, a skilled and savvy workforce that has extensive training in suicide care and treatment is critical. This webinar will focus on why using evidence-based care that focuses on treating suicide directly is essential and will discuss two highly researched models of treatment: Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Frequently encountered obstacles in delivering evidence-based care will also be explored. Finally, an individual with lived experience will describe the improved outcomes she experienced as a result of working with a well-trained clinician.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to (1) explain how using evidence-based approaches to treatment improves outcomes for those at risk for suicide; (2) recognize the importance of treating suicide symptoms directly; (3) describe two evidence-based models of suicide care; and (4) understand the perspective of people with lived experience and how it is impacted by receiving evidence-based care.

Principles of Effective Suicide Care: Evidence-Based Treatments

The availability of support groups specific to attempt survivors, peer-operated warm lines, and the presence of peer navigators can greatly enhance traditional care for those at risk of suicide. During this webinar you will hear from presenters who have used unique approaches, incorporating the voice of lived experience, to guide treatment and prevention efforts to better support those in clinical settings at risk for suicide.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to (1) Explain the important role of embedding peer supports and those with lived experience in a comprehensive Zero Suicide model; (2) Discuss how to engage, hire, and collaborate with peer support professionals; (3) Recognize the importance of using programs designed specifically to support attempt survivors; and (4) Describe crisis or emergency services who offer peer support services.

The Role of Peer Support Services in Caring for Those at Risk of Suicide

To highlight the resilience and strength of American Indian and Alaska Native people, and to encourage those communities who have or are currently experiencing the devastation of suicide, the Tribal Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center in collaboration with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center will present a webinar to help you, your Tribe and your community learn more about suicide prevention strategies and available resources.   National Suicide Prevention week is September 7-13, 2015 and this timely learning opportunity can help your program and community to gain increased understanding about suicide prevention; examine prevention and intervention strategies from a cultural perspective; hear examples of community healing approaches; and learn about resources for suicide prevention week.

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With close to 500,000 patients visiting emergency departments (EDs) for self-inflicted injuries each year (NEISS, 2012), EDs have a pivotal role to play in preventing suicide. However, EDs face challenges addressing the needs of suicidal patients due to the fast-paced environment, the complex nature of suicide, stigma, and barriers to accessing follow-up care. This webinar will bring together experts in emergency medicine, emergency psychiatry, and research to: describe the rationale for ED-focused suicide prevention; discuss barriers and solutions to integrating suicide prevention in EDs; and introduce a new guide, Caring for Adult Patients with Suicide Risk: A Consensus Guide for Emergency Departments.

Learning Objectives:

• Summarize the rationale for emphasizing emergency department settings in suicide prevention efforts
• Understand the roles and responsibilities of ED professionals
• Discuss barriers to implementing suicide prevention strategies and ways to address them
• Describe a new resource to support implementation of suicide prevention approaches in emergency departments

Event Presenter(s)

Dr. Marian (Emmy) Betz, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Leslie S. Zun, MD, MBA, System Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Sinai Health System; Chairman & Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; Secondary Appointment, Department of Psychiatry at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/Chicago Medical School

Michael H. Allen, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Medical Director, Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners

Edwin Boudreaux, PhD, Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Dr. Marian (Emmy) Betz, MD, MPH is a board-certified emergency physician who works clinically at the University of Colorado Hospital Emergency Department (ED) and also conducts research in injury epidemiology and prevention. She is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health. She received her medical degree and Masters in Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins. In 2014, she was selected to serve on the Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission, and she chairs the Commission’s committee on emergency services.Dr. Betz’s areas of research expertise are “lethal means restriction” (i.e., limiting access to guns and other lethal methods for those who are suicidal) and the care of suicidal patients in EDs. She has worked with various national organizations on issues of suicide prevention, including the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association. Her research has received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Emergency Medicine Foundation, and she has served as Site Principal Investigator for the multi-site ED-SAFE trial. Her prior work has included publications and presentations related to ED provider attitudes towards lethal means restriction for suicide prevention, suicidality among older adults, as well as the epidemiology of suicide by altitude, rural residence, and Hispanic ethnicity. She also conducts research related to geriatric injury prevention and is a current recipient of a Paul Beeson Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging.

Leslie S. Zun, M.D., M.B.A. is the System Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Sinai Health System in Chicago, Illinois and Chairman & Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine and a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/Chicago Medical School in North Chicago, Illinois. His background includes a medical degree (M.D.) from Rush Medical College and a business degree (M.B.A.) from Northwestern University’s JL Kellogg School of Management. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Zun was a chief operating officer and acting chief executive officer for a 200 bed hospital in Chicago. Dr Zun?s research interests include healthcare administration, violence prevention and behavioral emergencies. His publications have addressed the administration of the hospitals and emergency departments, physicians? bonus and incentive plans and quality improvement topics. He has presented his research and lectured on these topics both nationally and internationally. He is a board member of American Academy of Emergency Medicine and the President Elect for the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry. He is the chief editor of the Behavioral Emergencies for Emergency Physicians textbook and course director for the past five years for the National Update on Behavioral Emergencies conference.

Edwin Boudreaux, PhD is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine. He has extensive experience with screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) for a range of behavioral health conditions in medical settings, with a particular focus on acute medical settings like the emergency department. Target behaviors include suicide and substance abuse. He brings expertise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies, Motivational Interviewing, and a variety of strategies designed to improve screening, assessment, and management of suicide risk. A primary focus of his research has been developing and studying a variety of technologies designed to assist with identification and management of behavioral health needs in medical settings and fostering behavior change and connection to outpatient care after an acute medical encounter.

Michael H. Allen, MD hails from the Carolina Low Country and grew up on the Marine bases at Parris Island and Quantico.  He attended Florida State University, received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and trained in psychiatry at the Institute of Living where he served as chief resident.  He went on to serve on the faculty of Cornell and later New York University School of Medicine.  While at NYU, he developed the model Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program at Bellevue Hospital, mentioned in New York Magazine’s “Best Hospitals in New York.” Currently he is an attending at the Colorado Depression Center, part of the National Network of Depression Center, consultant at the University of Colorado Hospital and medical director of the new Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners. 

Dr. Allen was a principal investigator in the NIMH Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder, a part of the STEP-BD Suicide Work Group and author of five publications related to suicidal ideation and behavior in STEP-BD.  He developed and validated the Clinical Global Impression Scale for Schizoaffective Disorder.  He has been a principal investigator for many clinical trials and led investigator training at more than 50 meetings in the US, Europe, South America, Russia, India and Asia.  He received a NARSAD Independent Investigator award for the study of nicotine and agitation and was a principal investigator in the testing of inhaled loxapine for agitation.  He was a member the NIH Emergency Medicine Roundtable and an author of their recommendations for emergency services research on suicide, agitation and delirium.  He is now a co-investigator on the NIH Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation study (ED SAFE) and PRISM, a MOMRP study of suicide screening in military primary care settings.      

He has served as president of the American Association and vice president of the International Association for Emergency Psychiatry, chair of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force on Psychiatric Emergency Services, lead expert for the Expert Consensus Guideline for the Management of Behavioral Emergencies, member of the American College of Emergency Physicians clinical policy committee, president of the board of the Carson J Spencer Foundation, and consultant to the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.  He has been a panelist for the Expert Consensus Guideline for Bipolar Disorder, the Colorado Clinical Guidelines Collaborative Depression Program, the Colorado Governor’s Advisory Panel on Suicide and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Co-occurring Disorders Guidelines.  He is currently a member of the Am Association of Suicidology Board Development Committee and Nominating Committees, a charter member of the Military Suicide Research Consortium, serves on the steering committee of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-TALK FREE) and is a senior scientific advisor at ProPhase, LLC.  As a grantee of the Colorado Trust, he helped to enact legislation creating the Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission and serves as a Commissioner.   

He is the author or editor of three books, former editor of Emergency Psychiatry, a reviewer for the Cochrane Collaborative and is currently associate editor of General Hospital Psychiatry.  He is board certified in psychiatry with added qualifications in addictions and is a certified suicide prevention gatekeeper instructor.  He is a professor of Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

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