NECT••• CAREVER S ATINNSFETY •COSuicide Prevention Program (SPP)ONSACOCENTER FOR THE STUDY OF TRAUMATIC STRESS (CSTS) | Department of Psychiatry | Uniformed Services University | www.CSTSonline.org

The Center was entrusted to develop a Suicide Prevention Program to raise awareness of suicide
as a public health problem and promote the mental health and well-being of Service membersand beyond. The focus of the Program is to implement and evaluate data-informed initiatives
across military and non-military populations to reduce suicidal behaviors and promote protective
environments. Below are brief descriptions of projects that were selected to contribute to the
FY22-23 SPP portfolio. For full details and their strategic alignment with national suicide prevention
goals, visit our website: https://www.cstsonline.org/suicide-prevention-program/

PROJECT TITLEOBJECTIVE/PURPOSEBRIEF DESCRIPTION

Safe is Strong

Enhance health careprovider education
about family risk
factors for suicide

Create and evaluate education materials for healthcare providers to (1) advance understanding offamilies with members who are at-risk of suicideand (2) inform providers about available prevention
and intervention services to reduce suicide risk invulnerable families.

Mental Push-Ups:
Mindfulness in theMilitary Application

Create an upstream
suicide prevention
tool to optimize
performance andreduce stress throughmindfulness practice

Adapt evidence-informed mindfulness techniques
into an easily accessible platform to encourage daily
engagement and practice of mindfulness. This mobile
app is contextualized for the military as an upstream
prevention tool and method for improving mental
health and wellness.

Enhance resiliency
skills in high stresssituations throughpositive psychology

Produce videos that model resiliency skills andtechniques in realistic battle scenarios. The videos
demonstrate five key areas: (1) What’s ImportantNow, (2) Deliberate Breathing, (3) Acceptance, (4)Grounding, and (5) Self-talk. The videos incorporate
positive psychology skills to manage real time
extreme stress and ultimately protect from negative
health outcomes following combat.

Implement scalable
firearms safety
trainings forgeographicallydispersed military
populations

Facilitate a training model for the National Guardon lethal means and voluntary reductions in firearmaccess during at-risk periods. The peer to peer
counselings incorporate principles of motivational
interviewing to encourage secure storage of personalfirearms as a means to decrease the risk of death bysuicide or other means.

Warrior Mindset:
Gaining a TacticalAdvantage

Project
Safeguard

Essentials of
Ethical Researchwith Participants atRisk for Suicide

Enable researchers toidentify and manage
suicide riskin the context ofresearch

Design and deploy a robust e-learning curriculum
to educate researchers within diverse settings on thetopic of suicide risk determination and management.
The course improves collective knowledge on how toidentify and address suicidal risk encountered during
human subjects research.

PROJECT TITLEOBJECTIVE/PURPOSE

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Let’s Talk AboutYour Guns

Close the knowledge
gap in communicating
secure firearm storage
options with service
members

Develop a podcast series to connect listeners withexperts on the topic of secure firearm storage.
The aim of this podcast series is to strengthen thecommunication skills and confidence of healthcare
providers, military leaders, family members, andpeers to have conversations with service members
about safely storing their personal firearms toprevent death or injury.

Psychiatry
ElectronicModules

Train early career
medical personnel in
upstream risk factors
for negative outcomes

Create and deploy self-learning electronic modules
aimed specifically for early in-training medicalpersonnel. eModules provide training on suicide
risk assessment and related upstream risk factors
for suicide including body dysmorphic disorder andeating disorders.

Bereavement
Adaptation:
Learning And
Navigating Coping
Essentials(BALANCE)

Create an easily
accessible web-based
program that will
target coping strategies
to minimize suicide
risk in bereaved
individuals

Create an interactive tool for bereaved individuals
to learn about and practice effective coping
strategies. This user-friendly platform allows
bereaved individuals to: (1) inventory current
coping skills, (2) learn about various coping
strategies and their possible effects, (3) practiceskills to manage ineffective coping, and (4) expand
current coping skills in order to increase sense ofcontrol over ability to cope.

The Military
Survivor Family
Safety ToolkitPromote family healthand well-being byenhancing military
survivor family safety
practices

Develop and implement a toolkit to promote
positive family safety practices for military
survivors. The Military Survivor Family Safety
Toolkit supports peer-to-peer discussions aroundfamily health and safety, well-being, potential
harmful behaviors, and suicidality.

Finding theWords

Model conversations
and shape language
around suicide risk andconnection to support

Produce a series of simulated videos to encourage
help-seeking and combat barriers to care. These
videos build confidence for key stakeholders to
select and deliver the best words to encourage
people to seek behavioral health or other support
services.

Create acommunication
platform to support
culture shift and easearound prevention andwellness conversations

Produce a podcast series for military and nonmilitary communities regarding upstream drivers ofsuicide and a public health approach to action. This
series features expert’s recommendations for uniquepopulations and communities at large.

Determine theimpact of trainercoaching on quality
and effectiveness ofLivingWorks ASIST& safeTALK suicide
prevention trainingFacilitate a LivingWorks Training for Trainers(T4T) mentoring model within the U.S. Coast
Guard and conduct evaluation on the impact ofmentoring on trainer candidates’
willingness and readiness toprovide interventions to thosehaving thoughts of suicide.

Brain Hijack

Supporting Our
Shipmates:
Gatekeeper
Trainer Project

Check our website for regular updates. https://www.cstsonline.org/suicide-prevention-program/