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Suicide Prevention
A number of resources are available to health care providers who work with Veterans and may be concerned about a Veteran experiencing a suicidal crisis.
Training for Health Care Providers
This website offers free training for communities and health care providers on the Columbia Protocol, which is used for suicide risk assessments.
VA strongly advises the use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) when treating patients, including the assessment and management of Veterans at risk for suicide.
Our partners at PsychArmor Institute offer free military competence training to educate individuals about the unique needs of people in the military community.
VA providers and community providers who work with Veterans can receive free, one-on-one consultation to enhance their therapeutic practice. To get started, email SRMconsult@va.gov .
Create an account on VA’s tool, TRAIN, to access courses and documents on many topics, including suicide prevention.
VA S.A.V.E. — which stands for “Signs,” “Ask,” “Validate,” and “Encourage” and “Expedite” — offers simple steps that anyone can take when talking with Veterans who may be at risk for suicide. The training video is available for free at https://psycharmor.org/courses/s-a-v-e .
From Science to Practice
From Science to Practice is a literature review series to help clinicians put suicide prevention research into action. The series translates evidence-based research into informative and practical steps that health care providers can take to help support their Veteran patients. The series describes a number of suicide risk and protective factors. No single risk or protective factor on its own causes or protects against suicide.
Resources To Share With Veterans
Veterans can search for free VA apps that provide tools and information for managing symptoms and stress, learning to practice mindfulness, and strengthening parenting skills.
Each VA medical center has a Suicide Prevention Coordinator to connect Veterans with counseling and services.
This self-help portal provides tools to help Veterans overcome everyday challenges in an entirely anonymous environment. Using the tools, Veterans can work on problem-solving, manage their anger, develop parenting skills, and more.
Encourage your patients to learn more about suicide prevention and explore resources and connected care options offered by VA.
In Clinicians’ Own Words
VIDEO
Clinicians can use Make the Connection as a tool to engage with Veterans or their family members who may be reluctant to seek support.
View more videos on Make the Connection .