Category: Suicide and Self-Injury
Steven Sayers, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine / Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lisa Brenner, Ph.D.
Director
US Department of Veterans Affairs
Aurora, Colorado
Peter Britton, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Research Psychologist
Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System
Canadaigua, New York
Steven Sayers, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine / Philadelphia VA Medical Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lily Brown, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stephanie Daniel, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Professor
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
In 2021, 47,646 individuals in the United States died by suicide, up from 29,580 in 2001; thus, there is an increasing need to develop effective interventions to reduce risk for suicide. Unfortunately, many individuals who are at risk for suicide will not seek traditional evidence-based mental health interventions for a multitude of reasons. There are opportunities to train concerned loved ones or peer mentors to engage in suicide prevention strategies. Research on interventions involving close supporters of those at risk for suicide is still at a relatively early stage. This symposium explores the opportunities and feasibility of interventions designed for implementation in non-traditional settings and with non-traditional implementers.
The first two presentations focus on those who are reaching out to VA services because of their concern about a veteran who may be at risk for suicide. Dr. Britton and colleagues will discuss “third party callers” to the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) – family, friends, clinicians, and acquaintances who call the VCL on behalf of veterans who may be at risk for fatal and non-fatal suicide attempts. The presentation will discuss the characteristics of N=135 third party call recordings that were coded as part of a larger VCL effectiveness project. Dr. Sayers and colleagues will present data on 239 callers to the VA telephone-based service Coaching Into Care, regarding their concern that the veteran in the family needed mental health care and who was also at risk for suicide. The study demonstrated that people close to veterans are often aware of the veteran’s suicidal plans, intent, availability of lethal means, and are willing to receive support for intervening with the veteran on their concerns.
The last two presentations present findings from the development of two interventions to guide supporters to those at risk for suicide. Dr. Brown and colleagues present data on the feasibility and initial outcomes of an intervention to involve peers to intervene with young LGTBQ adults. This project has rigorously adapted a life-skills and peer mentor intervention (originally developed for young men who have sex with men, “iREACH”) to reduce risk for suicide among LGTBQ+ emerging adults (18 – 24 years old). The team will report on outcomes related to the peer mentor, including their experience of distress, fidelity to the model, and perceptions of the utility of the program and of the Safety Planning Intervention among LGBTQ+ emerging adults. Dr. Daniel and colleagues will present a treatment development and pilot study of an integrated care support manager and texting intervention to support parents of adolescents psychiatrically hospitalized for suicide behavior. The findings support the efficacy of the intervention to decrease parental distress, increase parental self-efficacy, parenting practices, parent perceptions of support and safety monitoring, and participant satisfaction and acceptability of the intervention.
Dr. Lisa Brenner will serve as discussant for the symposium to unify and expand on the results of these studies. Dr. Brenner is a suicide prevention researcher and Director of the Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center which focuses on suicide prevention for veterans.
