Description:
This training provides behavioral health providers an opportunity to futher develop their clinical skills in suicide prevention through hands on learning. Using an avatar-based, asynchronous learning environment, participants practice conducting a suicide risk assessment, developing a safety plan with means safety counseling, and completing a relapse prevention exercise while receiving asynchronous feedback from subject matter experts in suicide prevention. In this activity, learners will work with Reyna, a member of the Army National Guard who is divorced with two children. She is a bisexual woman in her 30s, Cuban, and a devout Catholic with strong family and community ties.
Instructional Format:
This course takes place in an avatar-based, asynchronous virtual environment, Second Life. Participants will practice skills in suicide risk assessment, developing a safety plan with means safety counseling, and completing a relapse prevention exercise while receiving asynchronous feedback from subject matter experts in suicide prevention.
Platform Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 8, 10 or higher, Mac OS X 10.9 or higher
Hardware: 2 Ghz processor or higher, 1GB RAM or higher
Graphics Card: Windows - NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better OR ATI Radeon 9500 or better OR Intel 945 chipset, Mac - ATI Radeon 9200 and above OR NVIDIA GeForce 2, GeForce 4
This interactive experience takes place online through Second Life, which is an avatar-based simulated virtual reality. Please watch this brief orientation video to introduce Second Life to new participants:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15x5vn9Die56gYVwfuAWRBuWz7kd0CHsW/view
***We recommend participation on a non-DoD computer network. Second Life is not permitted on networks or internet connections belonging to US military bases or the US Department of Veterans Affairs. In these instances, we encourage participants to use a home internet connection. Second Life is not compatible with Chromebooks, tablet computers, and mobile phones.
In order to participate, users will need to create a Second Life account and install the Second Life Viewer application on their computer. If you do not have a Second Life account, sign up and download the viewer here: http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/. Click the gold "Join Now" at the top of the page to create an account and click the "Download the SL Viewer" button to get the Second Life Viewer application here: https://join.secondlife.com/?lang=en-US.
Headphones are highly recommended to be able to hear instructions.
If you require technical assistance with the above steps, or for questions regarding the training itself or credits, please contact the manager of the workshop, Mr. Aric Bowie at aric.bowie.ctr@usuhs.edu.
| SLIPS Reyna's Case Study Ad Memorandum (169.6 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Second Life User Guide (678.7 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Sharon Birman, Psy.D., is a CBT trainer working with the Military Training Programs at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She joined the CDP in 2014 after completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where she was actively involved in CBT and DBT intervention, supervision and education. She completed her predoctoral internship at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center, focusing her training suicide prevention and evidence-based interventions for the treatment of individuals with severe, chronic mental illness.
Dr. Birman received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern California and her master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University.
Her professional interests are in the areas of intervention and treatment planning for severe and chronic mental illness, suicide prevention, social justice, multicultural and diversity issues in therapy. She has received intensive training in CBT and DBT in a variety of contexts, including hospital setting, community mental health centers, Veterans Affairs and within an applied research lab. She has also received training in Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP), among other therapeutic modalities. She is certified in Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST), and Brief Response to Crisis (BRC).
Lisa French, Psy.D., is the Chief of Staff at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. She joined the CDP in 2011 as a deployment behavioral health psychologist at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center. Prior to joining the CDP, Dr. French served on active duty as a psychologist in the United States Air Force (USAF) from 2002-2011. In 2006, she deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Dr. French received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oregon State University and her master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. She is a 2003 graduate of the Wright-Patterson USAF Medical Center Psychology Residency Program.
As a military spouse, Dr. French continues to experience military life daily and has first-hand understanding of the demands of military service on the family. Her professional interests include dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatment approaches, the impact of military life on the family, and suicide prevention and treatment.
Financial: Lisa French is employed by Center for Deployment Psychology.
Non-financial: Lisa French has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
