Suicide Safe, SAMHSA’s new suicide prevention app for mobile devices and optimized for tablets, helps providers integrate suicide prevention strategies into their practice and address suicide risk among their patients. Suicide Safe is a free app based on SAMHSA’s Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T) card. SAMHSA’s Suicide Safe helps providers: Learn how to […]
Hospital
Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia on Suicidal Ideation in Veterans
A new study is the first to show that the treatment of insomnia in veterans is associated with a significant reduction in suicidal ideation. Results show that suicidal ideation decreased by 33 percent following up to six sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Further analysis found that the reduction in insomnia severity achieved […]
Integrating Intimate Partner Violence Assessment and Intervention into Healthcare
The Institute of Medicine, United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and national healthcare organizations recommend screening and counseling for intimate partner violence (IPV) within the US healthcare setting. The Affordable Care Act includes screening and brief counseling for IPV as part of required free preventive services for women. Thus, IPV screening and counseling must […]
Tools to Help Providers Assess and Treat Potentially Suicidal Patients in the VA
New tools to help providers assess and treat potentially suicidal patients are available thanks to a collaboration between the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The tools are based on VA and Defense Department clinical practice guidelines issued last year. The tools […]
Screening and Counseling for Alcohol Misuse: Making the Most of Medicare’s Coverage Options
Primary care providers are in a prime position to identify issues of alcohol misuse among their Medicare patients; yet, only ten percent of alcohol-dependent patients seen in primary care receive quality alcohol misuse care. Studies suggest that patients do not object to being screened for alcohol use and are open to hearing advice afterward. The […]
Predicting Suicides After Psychiatric Hospitalization in US Army Soldiers: The Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers
U.S. soldiers who have undergone inpatient psychiatric treatment have a greatly increased risk of suicide in the year after they are discharged from the hospital, suggests a new study. The study included more than 40,000 active-duty soldiers who received inpatient psychiatric treatment between 2004 and 2009. Within a year of being discharged, 68 of the […]