"Passionate about supporting military and civilian communities, I bring a decisive and client-focused perspective to management and development of educational and social science initiatives. My approach is to maximize effectiveness by identifying needs and developing cost-effective solutions in dynamic environments. I know that the Suicide Prevention Training for Trainers (T4T) project will provide an opportunity to develop Coast Guard “organic” resources who will apply preventive initiatives across the Service in the years to come."
Supporting Our Shipmates: Gatekeeper Trainer Project
Description
USCG leadership increasingly recognizes the need to better understand and mitigate the potential negative mental health effects associated with service. As part of that shift, the Suicide Prevention Program initiated a project to build up a network of mental health safety throughout the enterprise. Our team conducted a program evaluation study to examine training for trainers (T4T) support on training fidelity and impact on Gatekeeper training within elements of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) using LivingWorks Education (LWE) Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and safeTALK programs.
Strategic Alignment with National Suicide Prevention Goals
CDC Suicide Prevention Strategies
As it is outlined in the CDC's "Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices," our project is aligned with the following strategies:
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- Strengthen Access and Delivery of Suicide Care
- Create Protective Environments
- Promote Connectedness
- Teach Coping and Problem-Solving Skills
- Identify and Support People at Risk
- Lessen Harms and Prevent Future Risk
White House Priorities
As it is outlined in The White House "Fact Sheet: New Strategy Outlines Five Priorities for Reducing Military and Veteran Suicide," our project is aligned with the following priorities:
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- Improving Lethal Means Safety
- Enhancing Crisis Care and Facilitating Care Transitions
- Increasing Access to and Delivery of Effective Care
- Addressing Upstream Risk and Protective Factors
- Increasing Research Coordination, Data Sharing, & Evaluation Efforts
Results
- Participants trained by mentored trainers were more likely to endorse that they are more willing to talk to a Coastie who may be thinking about suicide; p = .017
- Participants trained by mentored trainers were more likely to know how to get help for a Coastie who may be thinking about suicide; p = .028
- Presented at MHSRS 2023 (award honorable mention)
- Presented at International Association for Suicide Prevention in Slovenia and International Summit on Suicide Research in Spain
- Manuscript in process