Educational Resources

This course was created to educate Healthcare Providers who care for our military Veterans. PsychArmor asked hundreds of Veterans what they wanted civilians, employers, educators, health care providers, and therapists to know about them.

Talking to a service member or Veteran about suicide — and asking the right questions — are the first steps in saving a life. To create an open, honest discussion about mental health healthcare providers should use the C-SSRS.

This course introduces the theory behind the Crisis Response Plan, and explains the importance of narrative-based assessment of predisposition, risk factors and protective factors in your clinical interactions with patients.

This course introduces the theory behind the Crisis Response Plan, and explains the importance of narrative-based assessment of predisposition, risk factors and protective factors in your clinical interactions with patients.

This course provides resources and guidance to help individuals find the words to have critical conversations to prevent suicide and support the ones they love and care about. Learners will explore five principles to help them confidently connect with their loved ones during a difficult time.

In this short, engaging course, Dr. Ted Bonar and Dr. Heidi Kraft discuss the importance of including conversations about lethal means accessibility — specifically firearms — during safety planning in all types of clinical encounters.

In this four-part series on The Basics of Military Culture, powered by PsychArmor in partnership with Comcast NBC Universal, you'll hear stories from six American service members about their experiences serving our country.

Developed in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, this course presents a general understanding of suicide within the military and Veteran community in the United States. It addresses how to identify a Veteran who may be at risk and teaches viewers what to do to help. Using the simple steps of S.A.V.E., we can all make a difference.

The Brain, Behavior, and Mind Lecture Series is a forum for audiences around the world to hear from distinguished speakers, whose work spanning neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and community has advanced our understanding of brain, behavior, and mind, and our ability to sustain mental health.

This will be a virtual event with a pre-recorded conversation with General Nakasone, followed by a live, moderated Question & Answer session with our featured speaker.

Please contact us at contact@amygdalaptsdconference.org if you have any questions.

This training module outlines the rates of depression in the civilian, military, and veteran population and provides information about the prevalence and etiology of depression. Information related to the stigma associated with depressive issues is addressed. Strategies for screening and assessing depression are included, and specific psychometric tools are provided. Treatments consistent with the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines to address depression are provided, with emphasis given to Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy. Finally, a brief overview of the six VA/DoD recommended treatment protocols is discussed, with information and resources for obtaining more comprehensive knowledge and training.

Face the Fight (FTF), founded by USAA, focuses on enhancing and expanding suicide prevention initiatives within the veteran community. Face the Fight’s unique approach is a non-siloed, science backed, and comprehensive strategy targeted to reduce veteran suicide. It incorporates three main components: philanthropic grantmaking, forming a coalition of supportive organizations, and initiating a public health campaign. Leveraging the CDC's suicide prevention framework, Face the Fight targets three priority areas: (1) Creating Protective Environments, (2) Strengthening Access to and Delivery of Suicide Care, and (3) Identifying and Supporting Individuals at Risk. Notably, Face the Fight’s grantmaking includes access to a technical assistance team that aids in the expansion and execution of evidence-informed suicide prevention programs. This webinar will offer an introduction to the CDC's suicide prevention model, highlight FTF’s distinct approach to combating veteran suicide, and review specific projects funded by Face the Fight. Additionally, it will provide resources, training, and information on other programs available to veterans and those who support them.

The purpose of this knowledge-based educational web course is to close the gap by discussing the Reserve Component (RC) as a unique culture within the military culture that warrants awareness and understanding from health care providers. A panel of experts from various backgrounds and settings to include Guard and Reserve, officer and enlisted, line and healthcare personnel will orient learners to the basics of service in the RC and then provide a more in-depth discussion regarding how membership in the RC culture can affect the health care seeking and response of RC Service members and their families. Unique stressors of RC will be reviewed to include common deployment-related health and mental health concerns. Empirically supported strategies to best engage RC patients will be reviewed as well as expert opinions from providers with extensive experience in working with this population in a healthcare setting.

The four modules of the Military Culture: Core Competencies for Healthcare Professionals course are listed below. You will find summaries of each module and a button to take each course. Each module has an estimated time for completion of two hours. Click the button and you will be taken to the TRAIN learning portal. Users new to the TRAIN system will be prompted to create an account before taking the modules, while users with existing TRAIN accounts will be prompted to log into their account.

This training module is for civilian mental health providers who want to develop a better understanding about how the military works and who comprises the armed forces. It provides an overview of military culture to include basics about its history, organizational structure, core values, branches of the service, mission, and operations, as well as the differences between the active and reserve components. Participants acquire greater competency in working with Service members by learning military culture and terminology, and by discussing how aspects of the military culture impact behaviors and perspectives.

The Center for Deployment Psychology is presenting a two-day course in the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention. Registration for the course is FREE and comes with 14 CEs. Upcoming dates:

• 9-10 July 2024, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern
• 22-23 August 2024, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern
• 5-6 September 2024, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern
• 6-17 September 2024, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern

Most individuals who have been exposed to a potentially traumatic event, such as sexual assault/abuse, physical assault/abuse, natural disasters, motor vehicle accidents, and combat, are able to recover naturally. Others, however, get “stuck” at some point during the recovery process and develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understanding how PTSD develops after a trauma and applying evidence-based treatment techniques to reduce or eliminate PTSD symptoms is critical area of competence for clinicians who serve trauma survivors. In this course, you will be introduced to one of the most effective treatments for individuals who have PTSD, called Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE). Based on the work of Dr. Edna Foa and her colleagues, this course provides an overview of the the theoretical and empirical support for Prolonged Exposure therapy, and introduces the learner to the main treatment techniques used in PE.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among youth in the United States. In addition to understanding factors that place a youth at elevated risk for suicide, it is important to identify and enhance factors that promote resilience. This webinar will focus on the protective role that interpersonal connectedness, across relational domains, can serve. Literature examining the relationship between connectedness and youth suicide risk will be reviewed. Additionally, promising interventions and approaches anchored in connectedness will be presented. Considerations for military connected youth will be discussed. Participants will leave with enhanced knowledge about the critical role that connectedness can serve to youth suicide prevention efforts, as well as ideas for enhancing connectedness in their own practice.

Shared decision-making (SDM), the process of discussion and engagement in clinical decision-making, has been identified in multiple PTSD clinical practice guidelines as a best practice. SDM includes providing information, supported deliberation, and reaching an outcome that supports a patient’s preference and values. It has been found to have positive effects for both providers and patients including increased engagement in evidence-based treatments. Presenters will identify a model of SDM, how to implement it in clinical practice, and ethical implications of adding shared decision-making into treatment decision-making. We will discuss insights from surveying the field about a SDM tool that can support clinical application. Aspects of diversity will be discussed as it applies to the therapeutic relationship and clinical decision making.

In our world a range of disasters, including climate-related disasters, pandemics, and mass violence are occurring with increased frequency and severity. You may have experienced living through multiple disasters in your community. This course will walk through the fundamentals of, as well as interventions in, disasters. This course will cover topics such as: the basic concepts in disaster and preventive psychiatry, psychological and behavioral effects of disasters, risk and vulnerability to disasters, psychological first aid, risk and crisis communication, leadership consultation and preparedness for disasters.

This course provides information about the role of the RCC, NMCM, and CCM. It also covers several common behavioral health symptoms and conditions, to include stressors, signs and symptoms of anxiety and anxiety disorders, trauma and stress, depression, suicidal ideation, substance use and misuse, anger, sleep problems, and traumatic brain injury. This training will assist RCCs, NMCMs and CCMs to identify key warning signs Service members may exhibit that would require further evaluation from a primary care or behavioral health provider.

This 45-minute training will outline the role of the behavioral health provider in support of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) Service members. The training will review the diagnostic criteria and provide guidance regarding assessment and diagnosis of gender dysphoria. An explanation of the role of pre-surgical consultation will help providers to better understand the care pathway. Topics related to supportive psychotherapy with TGD Service members will be summarized.

This course is designed to train certified health care providers who are not independently licensed mental health professionals how to conduct the periodic or deployment mental health assessment. This training provides basic knowledge on the Mental Health Assessment policies and procedures, timeline requirements, administration, scoring and interpretation of the measures that make up the Mental Health Assessment, intervention and referral guidelines, and a step-by-step breakdown of the Mental Health Assessment Person-to-Person provider interview process.

This 2-hour training module provides training in the assessment of suicidal ideation and behavior with military connected individuals. This training begins with a review of the epidemiology of suicide within the military population. Next, Department of Defense and Department of Navy instructions related to suicide prevention and reporting are reviewed. Participants will be introduced to the Self-Directed Violence Classification System (SDVCS), a nomenclature supported by the DoD-VA for self-directed violence and suicidal behavior. In addition, a review of two theories of suicide — the Fluid Vulnerability Theory and the Interpersonal Psychological Theory are discussed. Finally, evidence-based treatments are highlighted along with postvention principles and suggested resources for additional information.

This course will provide comprehensive information about suicide risk care and the Suicide Risk Care Pathway in the MHS, as set forth in DHA-PI 6025.47. Topics covered include the importance of compassion and safety in suicide risk care; general and military-specific suicide risk factors and protective factors; warning signs; preferred and standardized suicide terminology; Pathway procedures for healthcare providers, which include screening, assessment, safety planning, treatment, and follow-up care; crisis intervention via phone and in-person; lethal means safety counseling and safe storage solutions; provider self-care resources; and resources for providers of patients who die by suicide or attempt suicide.

Online is 5-hour interactive online course that helps participants learn the core actions of PFA and describes ways to apply them in different post-disaster scenarios and with different survivor needs. This course also covers provider well-being before, during, and after disasters. This course is relevant for new providers who are wanting to be oriented to PFA, as well as for seasoned practitioners who want a review of the PFA concepts.

Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) is a 5-hour interactive course designed for providers to help survivors gain skills to manage distress and cope with post-disaster stress and adversity. This course is for individuals who want to learn about using SPR, learning the goals and rationale of each core skill, delivering SPR, and supporting survivors in the aftermath of a disaster or traumatic event.

This free, 1.5-hour, online training helps first responders assist individuals with mental illness or substance use disorder who are in crisis using safe, positive approaches.

This free, 1-hour, online training addresses the mental and physical stressors faced by first responders when responding to opioid overdose calls and provides evidence-based coping strategies and resources to mitigate the impacts of these stressful events.