SpeakUp ReachOut and Eagle Valley Behavioral Health Continuing Education Series

Presented by Marian Betz MD, MPH and Rob Pincus. This program is offered free to participants.

Abstract:

“Lethal means counseling” is an evidence-based, recommended component of suicide prevention. It involves respectful, collaborative discussion between a healthcare provider and patient at risk of suicide to assess access to lethal means and discuss ways to reduce that access, at least until suicide risk has passed. Firearms have the highest case-fatality rate of all suicide attempt methods and account for the majority of suicide deaths in the United States, and firearms are therefore a key focus of lethal means counseling. Research has shown that lethal means counseling often does not occur, even in emergency or other acute care settings with patients with active suicide risk. Barriers to counseling include provider hesitancy or inadequate training. This session will provide: the rationale and background for lethal means counseling; basic information about firearms and reasons for ownership; and specific guidance on when and how to discuss firearms and other lethal means with suicidal patients. The session is intended for mental health and emergency care clinicians who interact with patients with active suicide risk.

To qualify for CE, participants must:

• Be present with cameras on

• Sign in and out of the webinar

• Complete course evaluation and assessment with a score of 80%

Learning Objectives:

Following this presentation participants will be able to:

• Identify the rationale for lethal means counseling.

• Define lethal means counseling.

• Identify reasons for firearm ownership.

• Identify the percentage of sucide deaths that involve firearms.

• Implement the lethal means discussion with suicidal patients.

Agenda:

9:00 - 9:45am: Rationale and Background for Lethal Means Counseling

9:45 - 10:15am: Basic Information about Firearms and Reasons for Ownership

10:15 - 11:00am: When and How to Discuss Lethal Means with Suicidal Patients

Citations:

• Diurba S, Johnson RL, Siry BJ, Knoepke CE, Suresh K, Simpson SA, Azrael D, Ranney ML, Wintemute GJ, Betz ME. Lethal Means Assessment and Counseling in the Emergency Department: Differences by Provider Type and Personal Home Firearms. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2020 Oct;50(5):1054-1064. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12649. Epub 2020 Jun 29. PMID: 32598076; PMCID: PMC7722150.

• Betz ME, Knoepke CE, Simpson S, Siry BJ, Clement A, Saunders T, Johnson R, Azrael D, Boudreaux ED, Omeragic F, Adams LM, Almond S, Juarez-Colunga E, Matlock DD. An Interactive Web-Based Lethal Means Safety Decision Aid for Suicidal Adults (Lock to Live): Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2020 Jan 29;22(1):e16253. doi: 10.2196/16253. PMID: 32012056; PMCID: PMC7016618.

• Pallin R, Siry B, Azrael D, Knoepke CE, Matlock DD, Clement A, Ranney ML, Wintemute GJ, Betz ME. "Hey, let me hold your guns for a while": A qualitative study of messaging for firearm suicide prevention. Behav Sci Law. 2019 May;37(3):259-269. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2393. Epub 2019 Feb 1. PMID: 30706954; PMCID: PMC6546538.

• Ranney ML, Betz ME, Dark C. #ThisIsOurLane - Firearm Safety as Health Care's Highway. N Engl J Med. 2019 Jan 31;380(5):405-407. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1815462. Epub 2018 Dec 5. PMID: 30517063.

• Betz ME, Wintemute GJ. Physician Counseling on Firearm Safety: A New Kind of Cultural Competence. JAMA. 2015 Aug 4;314(5):449-50. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.7055. PMID: 26241594; PMCID: PMC4559221.

This program includes 2.0 CE. The University of Denver, Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GSPP maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Marian Betz, MD, MPH Presenter Bio:

Marian Betz, MD, MPH is trained in emergency medicine and epidemiology, with a research focus on traffic safety and suicide. She is an attending physician at the University of Colorado Hospital, as well as an assistant professor of both emergency medicine, at the CU School of Medicine, and epidemiology, at the Colorado School of Public Health. She completed medical and public health training at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Betz has served as an invited member of national workgroups to develop guidelines for suicide prevention by emergency providers and currently serves as an elected section councilor for the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association.

Rob Pincus Presenter Bio:

Rob Pincus is an educator, author, and entrepreneur who has worked in the firearms industry for over 20 years. He is the owner of I.C.E. Training Company, the Executive Director of Personal Defense Network and the developer of the Combat Focus Shooting Program, which has been the core of many curricula used over the past decade by hundreds of defensive shooting instructors around the world. Rob has been active in the fight for Second Amendment rights since the days of the Federal “Assault Weapons Ban” and has worked with many State, National and International Organizations to expand people’s right to include firearms in their preparation for personal defense. In addition to developing programs for armed civilians, he has also provided training to US Military Special Operations Personnel, Law Enforcement Officers and Executive Protection Agents since the early 2000s. Since 2012, Rob has shifted his primary focus to Instructor Development and the evolution of defensive training in general. He has written 9 books, produced over 100 training DVDs, written countless articles on topics related to firearms & personal defense and is regularly invited to speak about gun rights and related topics by the media. He serves as a Trustee for Walk the Talk America, an organization dedicated to reducing firearm suicide.