The Division of Mental Health is sharing the below message from our colleagues at the Veterans Health Administration (VA) regarding Lethal Means Safety for providers who work with Veterans. Please review and share the attached flyer and direct any questions to the VA.
Thank you!
Dear Community Partner,
Thank you for the excellent care that you provide to our Nation's Veterans. Would you take a training that can help save Veterans' lives?
VHA is offering two free online self-paced Lethal Means Safety (LMS) trainings for providers.
Approximately 71% of suicide attempts occur within 60 minutes of a suicidal thought. Creating time and space between thought and access to lethal means saves lives, positively impacting the trajectories of families and communities.
This letter will explain the definition of lethal means, the goal of the training, why LMS training is important, and training opportunities (including CEUs available).
What are lethal means?
Lethal means are objects that can be used to inflict self-harm (such as medications and firearms), and lethal means safety is the practice of reducing suicide risk by reducing access to lethal means.
What is the goal of LMS counseling training?
Both trainings provide valuable resources to help you talk to Veterans about secure storage of lethal means. They will:
- Teach providers about military culture, secure firearm storage options and their role in suicide prevention.
- Review how to screen Veterans for suicide and the unique drivers of risk among Veterans.
- Teach providers to identify situations where LMS discussions may be necessary.
- Provide tools and tactics to aid providers talking to Veteran patients about LMS, including ways to build trust with Veterans so that they can have effective conversations about securing firearms.
Why is LMS training important?
Suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play. We know that 71% of Veteran suicides are related to firearms, and that firearms are approximately 95% fatal when used. We also know that Veterans utilize firearms as a method at a rate approximately 21% higher than non-Veteran US adults, and that most people who survive an initial suicidal attempt, do not go on to have later attempts.
We know it's not easy for providers to talk about suicide and firearm storage. These trainings can help you feel more comfortable and confident having these critical discussions.
What are the training options?
There are two types of available training. One provides CEU/CMU credits.
Please spread the word by sharing the attached flyer. The trainings are designed for health care providers like physicians, nurses, counselors, social workers and psychologists, but anyone can benefit from them.
The more people who are equipped to have these crucial conversations about securing lethal means, the more Veterans' lives we can save. Thank you for partnering with us in this important effort.
Matthew Miller, PhD, MPH
Executive Director, VA Suicide Prevention
Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Veterans Health Administration
