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PROMOTE CONNECTEDNESS AND IMPROVE CARE CONNECTIONS

Educational Links

Webinars and Training (on-demand)

• MIRECC2/CoE - VISN2 - Webinar Series
  This series of online webinars is aimed at Physicians, Social Workers, Counselors, and Psychologists. Below is a selection of past webinars:
  • Understanding Transitioning Veterans & Service Members: What is Transitional Stress?
  • Integrating Existing Supports to Manage Veteran Suicide Risk
  • Novel Approaches to Suicide Prevention for Veterans
  • Lethal Means Restriction & Suicide Risk Management
  • Treatment Resistant Depression: How to Diagnosis it and What to do About it
  • Promoting Connectedness to Manage Veteran Suicide Risk
  • Recognizing Veteran Suicide Risk
  • Integrating Existing Supports to Manage Veteran Suicide Risk
  • PSYCH/ARMOR Suicide in Military Members & Veterans Clinical Understanding, Prevention, and Intervention
• MIRECC2/CoE - VISN2 Keeping Veterans Engaged in Treatment: A Veteran Cultural Competence Approach

Scientific Research

• The modern-day Odysseus: How mental health providers can better reintegrate modern warriors and mitigate suicide risk
  Geraci, J., Murray, C., Kapil-Pair, K. N., Herrera, S., Sokol, Y., Cary, J., Landa, Y., & Goodman, M. (2020). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(5), 878-895. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22923
  
  
• Expanded roles and recommendations for stakeholders to successfully reintegrate modern warriors and mitigate suicide risk.
  Geraci, J. C., Mobbs, M., Edwards, E. R., Doerries, B., Armstrong, N., Porcarelli, R., Duffy, E.,
  Loos, C. M., Kilby, D., Juanamarga, J., Cantor, G., Sutton, L., Sokol, Y., & Goodman, M. (2020).
  Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01907
  
  
• Addressing suicide in the veteran population: Engaging a public health approach.
  Carroll, D., Kearney, L. K., & Miller, M. A. (2020). Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11.
  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.569069
  
  
• The IVMF research and analytics team is a trusted national resource for expertise, data and insights, and cultural competence in serving veterans and their families.

The ETS Sponsorship Program

Transitioning from the military to civilian life is exciting, but it can also be challenging as service members lose the benefits of military leadership, camaraderie, support, and structure. But thanks to the Expiration Term of Service (ETS) Sponsorship Program and its public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), service members exiting the military don’t need to do it alone.

Unlike other changes throughout their service, when service members leave the military, whether through an ETS or retirement, there is no individual assigned to assist in their transition into the civilian world. The change can lead to increased stressors, a decreased sense of purpose and an elevated risk for suicide and other mental health concerns when service members rejoin the civilian community.

In response, VA has collaborated closely with the U.S. Department of Defense, private and nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments to support the ETS Sponsorship Program to provide service members additional assistance in their post-military hometown to make the adjustment to civilian life successful. The program trains sponsors to maximize the potential and skills that service members bring from their military experience to positively impact the next chapter of their lives.

Link: ETS Sponsorship Program Website

Together With Veterans

Together With Veterans (TWV) is a community-based program that partners rural Veterans and community agencies to prevent Veteran suicide in their communities. By joining forces as one team, both the Veterans and the community partners gain a better understanding of how to most effectively reach Veterans at risk.

The Together With Veterans Suicide Prevention Strategies above are implemented using a five-phase process to support rural communities in developing a local Veteran suicide prevention action plan.

1. Phase 1: Build Your Team
2. Phase 2: Learn About Your Community
3. Phase 3: Teach Your Team
4. Phase 4: Plan For Action
5. Phase 5: Follow Your Plan and Measure Results

Link: Together With Veterans Program Website

Link: Community Implementation Toolkit