Inside 988: A conversation with SAMSHA leaders



Our next Mind Matters ECHO meeting will be held on September 21, 2023 from 5:30-7:00pm with James Wright, Chief of Crisis Center Operations for the 988 team and Robyn Filler, Manager of Clinical Standards for Vibrant Emotional Health.

If you have a case you'd like to share for consultation and support, please email Anitha Iyer, PhD, Course Director.

Mount Sinai Health Partners is also hosting a CME course on management of CKD and diabetes in primary care on September 12. Jenna Palladino, PsyD, will be a panelist speaking to screening for and treating comordbid behavioral health needs in treating chronic illnesses. Watch your inbox for registration details in the upcoming weeks.

Safety Planning is an evidence-based strategy for preventing individuals from acting on suicidal thoughts. Having a safety plan handy when suicidal thoughts intrude one’s headspace can provide the individual with access to previously identified actions and activities that have been effective in the past.

The Safety Planning instrument has six key components:

1. Knowing the warning signs that lead to/ have led to suicidal thoughts
2. Identifying internal coping strategies that have historically helped the patient take their mind off suicidal thoughts
3. Identifying the people and social settings that provide distraction from the suicidal thoughts
4. Listing people the patient feels comfortable asking for help
5. Listing the health care professionals the patient is engaged with whom they can ask for help
6. Identifying the actions one can take to make their environment safe

To learn more about safety planning, read this blog post or watch this short video by Anitha Iyer, PhD, Director of Behavioral Health Population Management.

Therapist Aid also offers free safety planning templates in English and Spanish.

Last month, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released their final recommendation statement on screening for depression and suicide risk in adults. While they endorse universal depression screening for adults, they found insufficient evidence to recommend universal suicidality screening.

In this editorial response, the authors draw on their collective work in suicide prevention research and quality improvement, clinical practice, lived experience of suicidal ideation, and experience of family suicide loss to explain what the USPSTF recommendations mean for you as a clinician.

Learn more

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) likewise released a perspective piece on screening for suicidality in children and adolescents.

SAMHSA recently issued an advisory regarding digital therapeutics (DTx) for treatment and management of behavioral health conditions.

DTx have can improve access to care, patient engagement, and health outcomes while reducing costs for care.

To learn more about leveraging DTx, limitations, and considerations read the SAMHSA advisory.

It's no secret that there is high stigma surrounding mental health which can be incredibly harmful to people living with mental health conditions and interfere with their treatment and recovery.

The CDC offers a variety of provider resources on mental health literacy, including a CME course from the University of Texas at Austin on stigma-free communication about mental health.

Information to share with your patients: depression