Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program Update

Veterans Health Administration sent this bulletin at 09/25/2020 11:43 AM EDT

Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program
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Suicide Prevention Month	Resources	Lecture Series	Consultant News	What Providers Say	Request A Consult

September is Suicide Prevention month and we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to those of you working to prevent Veteran suicide. As an expression of our thanks, the focus of this SRM newsletter is clinician self-care resources. The work we do is rewarding and yet, it can be challenging at times. Therefore, we hope that the resources in this newsletter support your self-care journey during this important month of suicide prevention awareness.

We also want to remind you that you don't have to worry alone when it comes to suicide prevention — never hesitate to contact the Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program (SRM) for free consultation, support and resources that promote therapeutic best practices for providers working with Veterans at risk for suicide. Visit the SRM website for more information.

— Drs. Bridget Matarazzo & Hal Wortzel (Co-Directors of Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program)

Suicide Prevention Month


Suicide Prevention Month is a national effort dedicated to raising suicide prevention awareness. Please click the link above to access helpful resources, toolkits, and ways to stay connected to the Veterans in your life. For more information related to VA Suicide Prevention efforts, visit the VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention's website.

Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration — SAMHSA — is providing educational seminars throughout the month of September. Click here to learn more.

Resources Taking the time to intentionally care for our whole self — body, mind and soul — will keep us energized and mentally well. This is especially important for professionals in fields dedicated to helping and caring for others. Please see below for several resources that promote provider self-care:

		American Psychological Association: Self-care Find helpful self-care resources, including an action plan for self-care, tips for finding work-life balance, and more.

		American Psychiatric Association: Well-being Access individual and organizational resources that focus on the notion of promoting a healthy well-being.

		A UB School of Social Work: Self-Care Starter Kit Developed for both students and professionals, the starter kit provides an introduction to self-care, how to develop a self-care plan and more.

		American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Provider Resources Find resources for preventing healthcare professional burnout, depression, and suicide prevention.

		Provider Resilience App Created by the National Center for Telehealth & Technology, the app gives providers tools, such as assessments and psychoeducation, to care for their own emotional health as they help our Nation's service members, Veterans, and their families.

		MIRECC "Short Take" podcast: "Bouts with Burnout: Managing Work-related Stress Across the Suicide Prevention Field" This 30 minute podcast focuses on the development and application of a model for wellness among research staff; lessons learned and burnout prevention approaches for clinicians and suicide prevention coordinators; a personal experience of a Veteran in recovery and working with suicidal Veterans as a peer support specialist; and an applied example of implementing burnout prevention programming as a non-clinician.

		TED Talks: Talks for when you feel totally burned out TED Talks is a collection of resources that focus on reducing burnout, including a talk on mindfulness, stress management, and more.

SRM Lecture Series

Join us for the SRM Monthly Lecture Series and earn free CEUs! Presentations occur on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 2 pm ET.

Upcoming Topics:

October — Welfare Checks and Suicide Prevention by Drs. Hal Wortzel and Edgar Villareal
November — Homelessness and Suicide Prevention by Drs. Ryan Holliday and Dr. Roger Casey and Mr. Shawn Liu, LCSW

Click here for more information on upcoming and previous lectures.

Consultant News

We want to thank Dr. Peter Gutierrez for his service as an SRM consultant as he transitions to a new role. As those of you who have consulted with him know, he is an incredible asset to the field of suicide prevention and we wish him the best in his new endeavors! As we say farewell to Dr. Gutierrez, we welcome a new consulant, Dr. Lauren Borges! Learn more about the rest of the team on our website.

Peter M. Gutierrez, Ph.D.

Peter M. Gutierrez, Ph.D. is a licensed Clinical Psychologist at the VA Rocky Mountain MIRECC. Dr. Gutierrez's clinical training was in child and adolescent psychology, with an emphasis on serious psychopathology and suicide. He is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He has been studying suicide, focusing on screening, assessment, and intervention for over 20 years. Dr. Gutierrez is a Past-President of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS).

Lauren Borges, Ph.D.

Lauren Borges, Ph.D. is a licensed Psychologist specializing in the use of contextual behavioral interventions (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy [ACT], Dialectical Behavior Therapy [DBT]) to assess and intervene on suicide risk. Dr. Borges' clinical and research interests include serving as a developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Moral Injury (ACT-MI), ACT for Life, and using the DBT chain analysis skill to identify and intervene on suicidal behavior.

What Providers Are Saying About SRM

In the past three months, providers who used SRM reported the following on a survey about the impact of consultation:

"The consultants were helpful and quite knowledgeable. They were able to discuss multiple facets of the loss, both identifying how to proceed on the professional level as well as how it was affecting professionals on a personal level"
—VA provider feedback in the SRM satisfaction survey, in the context of Postvention

How to Request a Consult

To request a free consult, email SRMconsult@va.gov and one of our team members will be in touch to get you connected with a consultant.

COVID-19

During this critical time, SRM experts continue to be available for suicide risk management consultation.


	Follow us on Twitter at @RMIRECC


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Suicide Risk Management Consultation Program Update

Suicide Prevention Month

Resources

American Psychological Association: Self-care

American Psychiatric Association: Well-being

A UB School of Social Work: Self-Care Starter Kit

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Provider Resources

Provider Resilience App

MIRECC "Short Take" podcast: "Bouts with Burnout: Managing Work-related Stress Across the Suicide Prevention Field"

TED Talks: Talks for when you feel totally burned out