Event & Training Types: ICRC-S Webinar

The third webinar of the ICRC-S 2018-19 webinar series, Preventing Suicide by Promoting Social Connectedness: Promoting Connectedness in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities through Culture, took place on April 22, 2019. The Qungasvik (kung-az-vik) ‘Toolbox’ is a multilevel strength- based intervention developed by Yup’ik communities to reduce and prevent alcohol use disorder (AUD) and suicide in 12-18 year old Yup’ik Alaska Native youth. The intervention aims to increase strengths and protections against AUD and suicide by promoting culturally meaningful ‘reasons for sobriety’ and ‘reasons for life.’ During this webinar, Dr. Stacy Rasmus, Associate Research Professor and Director of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Dr. James Allen, Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and BioBehavioral Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus, described the Qungasvik intervention and the research leading to its development, reviewed the research on which and how social connectedness concepts are addressed in American Indian/Alaska Native cultures, and presented on the path taken by Alaska Native communities to adapt and implement the intervention to their local cultural context.

Additional resource: 

Suicide Surveillance Strategies for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities | SPRC

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The fourth webinar of the ICRC-S 2018-19 webinar series, Preventing Suicide by Promoting Social Connectedness: Promoting Connectedness for Veterans and Active Duty Military Personnel took place on May 3, 2019. During this webinar, Dr. Norman B. (Brad) Schmidt of the Department of Psychology at Florida State University and Director of the Anxiety and Behavioral Health Clinic, briefly reviewed the research on efforts to affect the interpersonal risks of ‘Perceived Burdensomeness’ and ‘Thwarted Belongingness’ in suicide prevention efforts. Despite research on the relationship between burdensomeness, belongingness and suicidality, less research has focused on whether we can reduce these interpersonal risks. Dr. Schmidt reviewed a large-scale clinical trial designed to reduce the risks of Perceived Burdensomeness and Thwarted Belongingness among Veterans and discussed the impact of risk reduction on suicide outcomes. Dr. Stephen O’Connor of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville and Associate Director for the University of Louisville Depression Center, reviewed information on a suicide focused group therapy available to Veterans. Despite a historical fear of contagion regarding suicide-focused group therapy, growing evidence suggests that this is the very thing that many Veterans want in terms of suicide-specific health services. Dr. O’Connor’s presentation described evolving research on the use of suicide-focused group therapy for veterans, and review how research on suicide-focused group therapy reflects a progression from program development to more rigorous testing of the possible mechanisms involved in the group process.

Selected Readings:
Johnson, L.L., O’Connor, S.S., Kaminer, B., Jobes, D.A., and Gutierrez, P.M.: Suicide-focused group therapy for Veterans. Mil Behav Health. 2:327-336, 2014.

Johnson, L.L., O’Connor, S.S., Kaminer, B., Gutierrez, P.M., Carney, E., Groh, B., & Jobes, D.A.: Evaluation of structured assessment and mediating factors of suicide focused group therapy for Veterans recently discharged from inpatient psychiatry. Arch Suicide Res. 8:1-19, 2017. 

O’Connor, S.S., Carney, E., Jennings, K.W., Johnson, L.L., Gutierrez, P.M., Jobes, D.A.: Relative impact of risk factors, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness on suicidal ideation in veteran service members. J. Clin. Psychol. 73(10): 1360-1369, 2017.

Short, N. A., Stentz, L., Raines, A. M., Boffa, J. W., & Schmidt, N. B. (In press). Intervening on thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness to reduce suicidality among veterans: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy. 

Allan, N. P.,Boffa, J. W., Raines, A. M., & Schmidt, N. B. (2018). Intervention related reductions in perceived burdensomeness mediates incidence of suicidal thoughts. Journal of Affective Disorders, 234, 282-288.

Chu C, Buchman-Schmitt JM, Stanley IH, Hom MA, Tucker RP, Hagan CR, Rogers ML, Podlogar MC, Chiurliza B, Ringer FB, et al. Psychol Bull. 2017 Dec; 143(12):1313-1345. 
 

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This podcast will introduce listeners to Zero Suicide, a comprehensive framework that promotes a systems approach for suicide prevention in health and behavioral health care settings. In the Zero Suicide framework, health systems apply a quality improvement focus toward screening, suicide risk assessment, engaging patients in care, providing treatment, ensuring safe transitions in care, and staff-wide training. Speakers Dr. Brian Ahmedani, PhD, LMSW, of the Henry Ford Health System Center for Health Services Research and Julie Drew, LCSW, MPA, of Geisinger Health System’s AtlantiCare, in New Jersey, will share the experiences of their organizations’ implementation of the Zero Suicide framework, discuss organizational data collection priorities and changes over time, and identify their suggestions for identifying common outcomes that could be applied across health care systems.

Part 1

Part 2

Designed as an introduction to suicide prevention, this one-hour podcast reviews common myths regarding suicide-related behaviors and provides an overview of the theories for suicidal behavior by individuals.  Using evidence-based suicide frameworks can serve to more effectively help identify people at an increased risk for suicide and inform effective interventions.  During this podcast, Dr. Jill Holm-Denoma of the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver, and Director of Denver University’s Clinic for Child and Family Psychology, reviews several key theories for suicidal behavior and, offers a case study example to illustrate the application of the theoretical frameworks of the assessment and treatment of suicidality.

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Event Presenter(s)

Jill Holm Denoma, Ph.D.
Clinical Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Denver

Jill Holm-Denoma received her M.S. in 2004 and her Ph.D. in 2007 in Clinical Psychology from Florida State University under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Joiner. She is currently a Clinical Professor at the University of Denver, and also the Director of DU’s Clinic for Child and Family Psychology. Her research and clinical interests focus on the assessment of suicide risk and the prevention of death by suicide.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youths ages 10-24 and suicide death rates are rising. This presentation describes the Family Intervention for Suicide Prevention, a component of the SAFETY program. This trauma-informed youth and family-centered approach aims to enhance protective processes and social connections in the family and social environment that can reduce the risk of suicidal behavior and improve the lives of youths who are struggling with suicidal and/or self-harm tendencies.

Resources:
Act, Support And Protect (ASAP) Website: https://www.asapnctsn.org/

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Event Presenter(s)

Joan Asarnow, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and Director of the UCLA Youth Stress and Mood Program, a depression and suicide prevention program with clinical, educational, and research components.  Dr. Asarnow has led efforts to develop and evaluate integrated medical-behavioral health care strategies for youths, with an emphasis on evidence-based treatments for youth depression and suicide and self-harm prevention.  She received the 2017 Research Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for her work developing and evaluating treatment and service delivery strategies for youths suffering with suicidal and self-harm behaviors and currently leads two major federally funded programs: 1) a large NIMH-funded randomized controlled trial, with Kaiser Permanente Research Foundation, evaluating a stepped care intervention for adolescents and young adults aimed at advancing the goal of zero suicide within a large health system; and 2) the UCLA-Duke Center for Trauma-Informed Adolescent Suicide, Self-Harm & Substance Abuse Prevention.  Two programs developed by Dr. Asarnow are listed in the National Registry for Evidence-Based Programs (SAMHSA): 1) the Family Intervention for Suicide Prevention, a crisis treatment for youths after a suicidal/self-harm episode; and 2) Depression Treatment Quality Improvement, an evidence-based depression treatment program that has been integrated within primary care, mental health, and other settings. Dr. Asarnow has received grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and other organizations.  She currently serves on the Scientific Council of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation.

David Goldston, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at Duke University School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. He also is Co-Director of the UCLA-Duke (ASAP) Center for Trauma-Informed Suicide, Self-Harm, and Substance Use Prevention and Treatment, which is part of the National Child Traumatic Stress Disorder. He has conducted longitudinal and treatment research with suicidal youth and adults, is part of the team evaluating the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Program, and he has a particular research interest in individuals with suicidal behavior with co-occurring substance use problems.  He also serves as Administrative Director for the Duke Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Substance Treatment. 

Jeanne Miranda, Ph.D. is a leading expert in developing and evaluating the impact of mental health care interventions on low-income and ethnic minority communities. For the past 30 years, she has led community-partnered research programs on depression treatments for under-resourced  communities in the United States and abroad. She developed and is evaluating a resilience intervention for low-income and sexual and gender minority populations in Los Angeles and New Orleans. She has adapted and evaluated her depression interventions for youth in Uganda.  Dr. Miranda was the Senior Scientific Editor of Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity: A Report of the Surgeon General. In 2005, she was elected to the Institute of Medicine, now the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Miranda is the 2008 recipient of the Emily Mumford Award for Contributions to Social Medicine from Columbia University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from University of Kansas and completed her post-doctoral training at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). From 1988-1992, she was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSF. In 1992, she moved to Washington, D.C. where she became an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University. In 2001, Dr. Miranda joined the David Geffen School of Medicine and became Professor in Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA.

According to the 2016-2018 Gallup Poll, 50% of Americans are members of or regularly participate in services or activities of a faith community. During this presentation, Reverend Sherry Davis Molock, Ph.D. of the Department of Psychology at The George Washington University and Pastor of the Beloved Community Church in Accokeek, Maryland, reviews the role faith communities can play in promoting connectedness among members and non-members to prevent suicide and suicidal ideation. Dr. Molock reviews current suicide data, risk and protective factors for suicide, and strategies all faith communities can use to promote connectedness through ‘mattering’ and cultivate wholeness.

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Event Presenter(s)

Reverend Sherry Davis Molock, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, where she teaches undergraduate and doctoral courses in the field of clinical psychology and conducts research on depression and suicidal behaviors in African Americans. Dr. Molock’s research interests lie in developing and implementing prevention programs for youth, particularly in African American churches on the issues of HIV and suicide prevention.  Her work has appeared in a number of professional journals, including the Journal of Black Psychology, the Journal of Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior and the American Psychologist.  She has served on a number of local and national boards, including the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Faith Community Task Force, Adoptive Families of America, the National Organization of People of Color against Suicide (NOPCAS) and the American Association of Suicidology.  She also serves as a grant reviewer for NIMH, NIDA, and SAMHSA.  Dr. Molock and her husband, Guy Molock, Jr., are the founding pastors of the Beloved Community Church in Accokeek, Maryland. Dr. Molock graduated with honors from Dartmouth College in 1979, earned a master’s degree (1981) and a doctoral degree in clinical/community psychology (1985) from the University of Maryland, College Park. In May 2000, she graduated with honors with a Masters of Divinity degree from Howard University.

This podcast reviews qualitative research methods for listeners, offering examples of qualitative design for suicide prevention research and evaluation. Presenter Brooke A. Levandowski, Ph.D, MPA, will review qualitative methodologies, outlining a framework for evaluating qualitative suicide prevention in primary care settings, and highlighting the additional research power available through qualitative designs. Presenter Lisham Ashrafioun, Ph.D. will review his use of qualitative research methods, including qualitative designs and data to evaluate clinical interventions.

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Event Presenter(s)

Brooke A. Levandowski, PhD, MPA is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Senior Informaticist in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University.  Dr. Levandowski’s research seeks to enhance patient-provider communication and thereby improve stigmatized health outcomes through understanding the influence of social determinants of health on health decision making, primarily in the field of reproductive and sexual health. Dr. Levandowski spent four years as a Health Science Specialist at the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center conducting research on VHA providers’ and Veterans’ perceptions of suicide prevention interventions in primary care and the use of safety planning interventions with Veterans at high risk for suicide; conducting program evaluations; and training Postdoctoral Fellows in the use of qualitative data for suicide prevention research.  She received a Masters in Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health. 

Lisham Ashrafioun, PhD, is Senior Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester and Research Investigator at the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center. His research has spanned the distinct and overlapping areas of chronic pain, suicide prevention, and substance use – particularly opioid misuse. Dr. Ashrafioun’s research interests lie in assessing nonpharmacological pain management approaches, including combining various forms of self-management strategies, on physical functioning and vulnerability of suicide-related outcomes. Dr. Ashrafioun has also led several large-scale studies of the suicide risk of chronic pain patients from national survey and administrative medical record data, to identify innovative interventions and targets to optimize pain management and suicide prevention efforts in patients experiencing pain. Dr. Ashrafioun received his PhD in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University, and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center as part of the VA’s Advanced Fellowship in Mental Illness Research and Treatment program.

The sixth and final session of the ICRC-S 2018-19 webinar series, Preventing Suicide by Promoting Social Connectedness: Exploring Systems Approaches and Connectedness in Communities took place on July 22, 2019. During this webinar, Ann Marie White, Ed.D. Director of the Office of Mental Health Promotion and Associate Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center, reviewed systems approaches to identify and understand social connectedness in a number of settings and contexts. Dr. White provided a brief overview of social connectedness in communities and shared examples such as applying network analyses to identify and understand effective social connectedness in community-based social contexts relevant to suicide prevention.

Additional Resources:

CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control- Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices

SPRC – A Comprehesive Approach to Suicide Prevention 

PDF of the slides

Watch the archived webinar