TSPN Call to Action TSPN ADVISORY COUNCIL HOSTS RETREAT AT MONTGOMERY BELL STATE PARK

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1 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 JUNE 2012 TSPN Call to Action T E N N E S S E E S U I C I D E P R E V E N T I O N N E T W O R K INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Gateway Medical Center Training Session TSPN Regional Conferences Army Suicide Rate Surges Washington State Suicide Training Law National YRBS 4 Let There Be Light 4 Advisory Council Retreat in Pictures TSPN Regional Calendar Advisory Council Contact Information PLUS PARK BOULEVARD, SUITE 201 NASHVILLE, TN PHONE: (615) FAX: (615) TSPN@TSPN.ORG TSPN ADVISORY COUNCIL HOSTS RETREAT AT MONTGOMERY BELL STATE PARK A record number of TSPN Advisory Council members and guests attended the annual Advisory Council retreat at Montgomery Bell State Park Inn on June 6-7, generally acknowledged as one of the most productive retreats in years. The first day of the retreat was devoted to presentations by various invited guests: Wendell Cheek, Deputy Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Veteran Services, presented information on mental health services currently available to Tennessee veterans. Sejal West, the new Assistant Commissioner for Mental Health Services within the Tennessee Department of Mental Health, spoke about her new role within the Department and her vision for suicide prevention. Clark Flatt, President/CEO of the Jason Clark Flatt, President/CEO of the Jason Foundation, Inc., presents information on the Tennessee National Guard s Guard Your Buddy program during this month s Advisory Council retreat (photo courtesy of Stephanie Chadwell). Foundation, Inc., provided information on the Guard Your Buddy smartphone application he helped develop for the Tennessee National Guard. Sandra Thomas, MD, MS, Chief of Epidemiology for the Metro (Nashville) Public Health Department, and Angie Thompson, its Director of Behavioral Health, discussed recommendations for enhanced suicide data collection and reporting by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The second day of the retreat included a business meeting of the Advisory Council, during which members planned Network activities and emphases for the next fiscal year. Major actions of the Council during this meeting: Approved an invitation for suicide prevention activist Al Estock to provide the keynote address at this year s Suicide Prevention Awareness Day event Discussed and approved a Pledge to Prevent Suicide public awareness campaign for this year s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month observance Acknowledged outgoing Intra-State Departmental Group Chair Thom Roberts s service to this group and the Network at large Discussed outcomes of the Tennessee Lives Count (TLC) Project s current grant, including planned regional postvention training sessions for school staff Authorized an update of the Older Adult Suicide Prevention Plan to include the latest suicide statistics Approved specific branding for the TSPN App, a smartphone application scheduled to be released as part of the Pledge to Prevent Suicide project Elected Advisory Council Chair Madge Tullis to the TSPN Emeritus Alumni Association The Network appreciates the contributions of all our guest speakers, and the unusually large number of regular members who attended the event. Photos from the retreat are featured on pages 5 and 6 of this publication. The next meeting of the Advisory Council will follow the Suicide Prevention Awareness Day Event, to be held on Wednesday, September 12, at Trevecca Community Church, located at 335 Murfreesboro Pike in Nashville. U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin will be invited to speak at this event. Further details regarding speakers and proceedings will be announced as they are available.

2 TSPN CALL TO ACTION GATEWAY MEDICAL CENTER TO HOST TRAINING SESSION TSPN s Montgomery-Houston-Humphreys-Stewart County Suicide Prevention Task Force is offering a free training opportunity regarding the prevention of suicide. The session will run from 9-11 AM on Thursday, July 26, in the Liberty Room (Conference Rooms B and C) at Gateway Medical Center, located at 651 Dunlop Lane in Clarksville. The training session includes a two-hour presentation of the evidence-based "Question, Persuade, Refer" (QPR) suicide prevention curriculum. Participants will learn about the warning signs of suicide, how to engage severely depressed or actively suicidal people and talk them out of immediate drastic action, and how to connect them with local mental health and crisis intervention resources. No clinical background or prior knowledge of suicide prevention is needed ahead of the session. Two contact hours are available for participants. Only 65 seats are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration is available online at The Montgomery-Houston-Humphreys-Stewart (MHHS) Suicide Prevention Task Force was started this March in order to coordinate suicide prevention activities and initiatives within the Clarksville-Fort Campbell area. The composite average suicide rate for this four-county area for the years 2006 through 2010 is 20.6 per 100,000 population, compared to the five-year average suicide rate of 14.7 per 100,000 for the state of Tennessee at large. The group s next meeting is at 9 AM on Tuesday, June 5, at Behavioral HealthCare Center at Clarksville, located at 930 Professional Park Drive in Clarksville. For more information about the Task Force, contact Cindy Johnson at (931) or cjohnson@thmgt.com. REGIONAL CONFERENCES PLANNED FOR COMING MONTHS Several TSPN regions are planning suicide prevention conferences in advance of or as part of this year s Suicide Prevention Awareness Month observance. Each conference will feature breakout sessions on suicide prevention for the general population and for high-risk groups like seniors and veterans. It will also feature a luncheon and continental breakfast. Local elected officials, such as county and city mayors, have been invited to each event. Five contact hours are available for participants at all events. All conferences will run from 9 AM to 3 PM unless otherwise noted. The full list of conferences is as follows: Saving Lives in Northeast Tennessee will be held on Tuesday, August 7, at Boone s Creek Christian Church, located at 305 Christian Church Road in Gray. The event is a follow-up to a highly popular conference by the same name held in March. For additional information, call (423) or rstewart@frontierhealth.org. Saving Lives in Rural West Tennessee is scheduled for Friday, September 21, at the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department, located at 804 North Parkway. This conference is also a sequel to an earlier conference, which was held in Jackson last September. More information is available from BHI, Inc., at (731) or stephenier@bhillc.org. The AIM Center in Chattanooga (located at 472 West MLK Boulevard) will host Saving Lives in Southeast Tennessee at a date in September to be announced later. Contact point for this event is the TSPN central office--(615) or tspn@tspn.org. Plans are also developing for Saving Lives in Upper Cumberland Tennessee, tentatively planned for the Cookeville campus of Nashville State Community College. More details will be available in the coming months. PAGE 2

3 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 ARMY SUICIDE DEATH RATE SURGES TO ONE A DAY U.S. Army and Pentagon officials are trying to unravel and respond to a dramatic increase in Army suicide, which as of this month were occurring at the rate of approximately one a day. A joint military-civilian task force, including several leading psychologists and counselors, held a special meeting this month to study the 154 Army and National Guard suicide deaths recorded through June 4. This compares to the 130 deaths recorded through that same date last year. The number of suicides recorded during January-May 2012 is 16% higher than the same number for that same period in 2009, which had the highest number of troop suicides on record. Generally the trend during the first five months of each year correlates highly with the final year-end tally, according to a June 8 MSNBC report citing figures provided by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. Previously indicated factors like post-traumatic stress disorder, multiple combat deployments, relationship issues, and the stigma attached to seeking help still appear in analyses of troop deaths. But one additional factor the gradual drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan may signal a paradoxical deepening of the problem. "We've seen before that these signs show up even more dramatically when the fighting seems to go down and the Army is returning to garrison," observes Brigadier General Stephen N. Xenakis (Ret.), a psychiatrist consulted by MSNBC in the aforementioned report. "It's a sign in general of the stress the Army has been under over the 10 years of war," he said. Xenakis also worries that senior military officers fail to understand the factors that lead to suicide and the seriousness of the problem in general. He cites a recent blog post by the commanding general of Fort Bliss in Texas who called suicide an absolute selfish act. (The statement, which was later retracted, received a public rebuke from the U.S. Army.) SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING BILL SIGNED IN WASHINGTON Jennifer Stuber (standing, second from right) and her children Zoe and Jake Adler look on as Washington Governor Christine Gregoire (seated) reviews the newly signed Matt Adler Act at a public ceremony in Olympia (photo courtesy of SPRC). Recently signed legislation in Washington state will mandate continuing education in suicide prevention for mental health professionals, a move being heralded as an historic development in the suicide prevention field. The Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment and Management Act requires the state s mental health professionals, social workers, and occupational therapists to receive six hours of training every six years as part of their continuing education requirements, effective as of The bill was signed into law by Governor Christine Gregoire on March 29 in a public ceremony. Jennifer Stuber, Ph.D., wife of the bill s late namesake, was on hand for the signing event along with her children and other mental health advocates. Adler died by suicide in February 2011 after an extended struggle with severe depression and anxiety disorder. He was 40 years old and was survived by Stuber and their two children. Health professionals are licensed by the state with the expectation they will protect the public, but not all clinicians receive this critical suicide prevention training, explained State Rep. Tina Orwall (D-Des Moines), the bill s House sponsor, in a May 29 press release on the Washington State House Democrats website. With the training programs in suicide assessment, treatment, and management, Washington s health professionals will be better able to meet the needs of our residents. Prior to his death, Adler had expressed a wish to help other people with mental illness, and following his death Stuber and her friends began lobbying for this legislation. They also started the Matt Adler Fund for Suicide Prevention, a charity devoted to encouraging innovation in the health care sector in the area of mental illness and suicide prevention, as well as suicide prevention awareness within the general public. The fund is currently seeking 501c3 status; additional information about the Fund and Adler himself is available at the Fund s website ( PAGE 3

4 TSPN CALL TO ACTION Cdc: 1 IN 6 TEENS CONSIDERED SUICIDE IN 2011 The latest Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report estimates that roughly one in six high school students considered suicide during the past year. The document, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is an annual report generated by a national survey of approximately 15,000 public and private high school students. The survey asks students about a wide range of health risk factors and behaviors relevant to adolescents, such as texting while driving, helmet use while bike-riding, fights and other violence on school grounds, bullying, substance use and abuse, sexual behavior, and diet. Several states, including Tennessee, conduct and publish their own versions of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report, the results of which are incorporated into the national report. 15.8% of students queried reported seriously considering suicide in the twelve months prior to the survey. Prevailing demographic trends from previous years held constant females were more likely to consider suicide than males, and Hispanic students were more at risk than their white or black classmates. Nationally, 12.8% of students reported making an actual suicide plan, a marked increase from the past year (10.8%). 7.8% of students reported attempting suicide, with 2.4% of respondents requiring medical treatment for a suicide attempt. Hector Y. Adames, MD, of Michigan Avenue Neuropsychologists, a private practice located in Chicago, was interviewed by MSNBC on June 8 regarding the latest report; he suggested that the prevalence of rapid-fire communication via texting, instant messaging, and social media may be contributing to the problem. "What happens with an increase in communication among students is that there's more pressure. There's more bullying. When adolescents and children feel embarrassed, it's kind of like the end of the world for them," he said. He advised that parental engagement is key to supporting their children s mental well-being, not merely regarding suicide risk but the other subjects covered by the report as well: "It's OK to be vigilant. It's OK to ask questions. And most important: observe, observe, observe. If there's any change, if there's anything different about your child." The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report is available for free download on the CDC website ( ss6104.pdf). Meanwhile, the Tennessee report is maintained on the Tennessee Department of Health s website ( yrbs/index.shtml). RESTORED WWII DOCUMENTARY MAY HELP TODAY S VETERANS A recently restored version of a documentary on World War II veterans dealing with the aftermath of combat may prove useful to the soldiers of today. Let There Be Light was filmed in 1946 by John Huston, better known for directing classics like "The Maltese Falcon" and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre". It includes footage of World War II veterans being treated for shell shock at Mason General Hospital, a military psychiatric hospital on Long Island. Many of the soldiers interviewed and treated display symptoms of what is now called post-traumatic stress disorder. The film was ultimately suppressed by the U.S. Army for reasons unknown, although it is suspected that the film s inclusion of white and African-American soldiers freely interacting on the hospital grounds may have been a factor. Some of the dialogue from Let There Be Light was included Shades of Gray, a 1947 Army production that used actors to portray troubled soldiers. Let There Be Light was itself released in 1980, but in a poorly edited format. Ron Honberg, director of policy and legal affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), believes many aspects of Let There Be Light are relevant to today s men and women in uniform. The film addresses reconnection with civilian life, acceptance by the A film still from Let There Be Light, courtesy of the National Archives. The film is narrated by Walter Hudson, father of director John Huston, who co-narrated the Why We Fight World War II documentary series and won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which his son also directed. general public, problems with treatment and rehabilitation, and concussive injuries (what would now be called traumatic brain injury). "I would say it's relevant (to modern veterans)," Honberg said in a May 25 msnbc.com interview on the film. "The wartime experience is among the most horrendous experiences that people can go through. My dad, who fought in World War II, lost two of his friends right in front of him." The fully restored film is available for free viewing for a limited time on the website of the National Film Preservation Foundation ( Since the film is now public domain, the file can be downloaded directly from the site and reposted elsewhere. PAGE 4

5 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 ADVISORY COUNCIL RETREAT IN PICTURES As part of a special project, retreat guests created signs with supportive slogans juxtaposed with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ( TALK). Assorted guests are pictured here along with the signs they made. Top left: Micky Roberts, Executive Director, Tennessee League for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Top center: Claudia Mays, CEO, CM Counseling & Consulting Service. Top right: Mark Allison, Volunteer Behavioral Health Care Services. Center left: Cindy Johnson, Community Education Director, Behavioral Healthcare CenterClarksville. Center (left to right): Micky Roberts; Knox County Health Department; Anna Shugart, Director, Emotional Health & Recovery Center, Blount County Memorial Hospital; Anne Young, Program Director, Young Adult and Residential Relapse Recovery Program, Cornerstone of Recovery. Center left: Tina Mitchell, Executive Director, CrossBridge, Inc./ Compassionate Ministries Pastor, Trevecca Community Church. Bottom left: Harold Leonard, Cognitive Behavioral Specialists of the Tri-Cities. Bottom center: Jackie Tally, Tennessee Department of Mental Health. Bottom right: Sam Bernard, President/CEO, the PAR Foundation. T. Roberts and Talley are members of TSPN s IntraState Departmental Group, with T. Roberts serving as chair. Leonard, Mays, Mitchell, M. Roberts, Shugart, and Young are all members of the Advisory Council. Bernard is a member of TSPN s Emeritus Alumni Association. (All photos are courtesy of TLC Project Trainer Stephanie Chadwell, who developed and oversaw this project for the TSPN

6 TSPN CALL TO ACTION ADVISORY COUNCIL RETREAT IN PICTURES During the meeting, Sandra Thomas, MD, MS, Chief of Epidemiology for the Metro (Nashville) Public Health Department (right photo, seated at center), presented the CDC s recommendations for improving suicide data collection and reporting, along with her own recommendations. Following her presentation, Advisory Council members and guests broke into three groups to discuss opportunities and barriers regarding data collection. Afterwards, they shared their findings with Thomas and the Council at large. The Network would like to thank Angie Thompson, the Department s Director of Behavioral Health and Chair of the Davidson County Suicide Prevention Task Force, for arranging this presentation. Wendell Cheek, Deputy Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs, and Sejal West, Assistant Commissioner for Mental Health Services within the Tennessee Department of Mental Health, review materials provided by TSPN s Fort Campbell delegates. Cheek and West both spoke on behalf of their respective departments during the first day of the retreat. Jennifer Harris, Advisory Council Co-Chair, and Tim Tatum, Advisory Council Secretary, pose with prizes they picked up during the White Elephant gift exchange held on the first evening of the retreat. This part of the retreat serves as a social event for retreat guests and is one of the most popular segments of the agenda. Special thanks go out to Harris for chairing the business meeting on behalf of Advisory Council Chair Madge Tullis, who was unable to attend this year s event. PAGE 6

7 VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 TSPN REGIONAL CALENDAR No December meetings are scheduled unless otherwise marked. Dates in bold and in verdigris indicate alternate meeting dates intended to accommodate state holidays or other previously scheduled events. East Tennessee Region monthly, 3rd Thursday, 12:00 PM Mental Health Association of East Tennessee, Inc., 9050 Executive Park Drive, Suite 104-A, Knoxville, June 21, July 19, August 16, September 20, October 18, and November 15 Memphis/Shelby County Region monthly, 3rd Tuesday, 11:30 AM The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, 1900 Union Avenue, Memphis, June 19, July 17, August 21, September 18, October 16, and November 20 Mid-Cumberland Region monthly, 2nd Thursday, 9:30 AM Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc., 937 Herman Street, Nashville, June 14, July 12, August 9, September 13, October 11, and November 8 Northeast Region monthly, 4th Tuesday, 10:30 AM Boone s Creek Christian Church, 305 Christian Church Road, Gray, June 26, July 24, August 28, September 25, October 23, and November 27 Rural West monthly, 3rd Wednesday, 10:30 AM Behavioral Health Initiatives, 36C Sandstone Circle, Jackson, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19, October 17, and November 14 South Central monthly, 2nd Monday, 11:00 AM Conference Room A, South Central Regional Health Office, 1216 Trotwood Avenue, Columbia, June 11, July 9, August 13, September 10, October 15, November 19, and December 10 Southeast Region monthly, 1st Thursday, 10:00 AM Johnson Mental Health Center, 420 Bell Avenue, Chattanooga, July 5, August 2, September 6, October 4, November 1, and December 6 Upper Cumberland Region monthly, 4th Thursday, 9:00 AM Volunteer Behavioral Health Care Systems, 1200 Willow Avenue, Cookeville, June 28, July 26, August 23, September 27, October 25, and November 15 Intra-State Department Meetings Third Floor Conference Room, Tennessee Department of Mental Health, Cordell Hull Building, 425 Fifth Avenue North, Nashville, (3:00 PM) August 8 and November 7 Advisory Council June 6-7 (Montgomery Bell State Park Inn, Burns) September 12 (Suicide Prevention Awareness Day event at Trevecca Community Church, Nashville) Blount County Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Alliance monthly, 1st Friday, 12:00 PM Blount County Health Department Conference Room, 302 McGhee Street, Maryville, June 1, July 6, August 3, September 7, October 5, November 2, and December 7 Davidson County Suicide Prevention Task Force monthly, 4th Wednesday, 3:00 PM Metro Public Health Department, rd Avenue North, Nashville, June 27, July 25, August 22, September 26, October 24, and November 28 Giles County Suicide Prevention Task Force quarterly, 3rd Monday, 1:30 PM Giles County Career Center, 125 South Cedar Lane, Pulaski, June 11, September 17, and December 17 Hickman-Perry County Suicide Prevention Task Force monthly, 4th Friday, 1:30 PM Senior Care Building, Hickman Community Hospital, 135 East Swan Street, Centerville, June 22, July 27, August 24, September 28, October 26, and November 16 Montgomery-Houston-Humphreys-Stewart Suicide Prevention Task Force monthly, 1st Tuesday, 9 AM Behavioral HealthCare Center at Clarksville, 930 Professional Park Drive, Clarksville, June 5, July 3, August 7, September 4, October 2, November 6, and December 4 Rutherford County Suicide Prevention Coalition monthly, 1st Wednesday, 6 PM ITNOLAP Pallet & Crating, 651 Middle Tennessee Road, Murfreesboro, June 6, July 11, August 1, September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5 Karyl Chastain Beal, chair of TSPN s South Central Region, operates a display at the Elder Adult Abuse conference in Chapel Hill on May 1. This event marked the debut of the Wheel of Prevention, part of a trivia game which includes questions and information on suicide prevention and mental illness (photo courtesy of Jennifer Harris). PAGE 7

8 ADVISORY COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION If you are interested in getting involved with TSPN on a local level or have other questions, contact the chairperson of your region as indicated by the map provided below: East Tennessee region Anne Young, MS, CAS (865) anneyoung@cornerstoneofrecovery.com Memphis and Shelby County Madge Tullis (901) kfttenn@ktullis.com Mid-Cumberland region Stephanie Barger, M.Div. (270) stephanie@healthassisttn.org Northeast region Harold Leonard, MA, LPC-MHSP (423) hleonard@centurylink.net Rural West region Anne Henning-Rowan, MS (731) annerowan@hughes.net South Central region Karyl Chastain Beal, MEd, CT (931) karylcb@bellsouth.net Southeast region Tim Tatum, MA (423) tim_tatum@chs.net Upper Cumberland region Jodi Bartlett, Ed. S, LPC-MHSP (931) or (931) , ext. 166 jbartlett@vbhcs.org Advisory Council Chair Madge Tullis (901) kfttenn@ktullis.com Executive Director Scott Ridgway, MS (615) sridgway@tspn.org Advisory Council Chair Emeritus Sam Bernard, PhD, FAAETS, DABCEM (423) sam@sambernard.info Lake Lauderdale Obion Henry Weakley Dyer Gibson Carroll Crockett Haywood Madison Tipton Chester Henderson Benton Decatur Stewart Houston Humphreys Perry Montgomery Dickson Hickman Lewis Cheatham Maury Robertson Davidson Williamson Marshall Macon Sumner Clay Pickett Scott Claiborne Hancock Fentress Campbell Hawkins Trousdale Jackson Overton Union Smith Wilson Rutherford Bedford Cannon Putnam Morgan De Kalb Cumberland White Roane Warren Coffee Grundy Van Buren Sequatchie Bledsoe Rhea Meigs McMinn Knox Loudon Blount Monroe Anderson Grainger Hamblen Jefferson Cocke Sevier Greene Washington Unicoi Sullivan Carter Johnson Shelby Fayette Hardeman McNairy Hardin Wayne Lawrence Giles Lincoln Moore Franklin Marion Hamilton Bradley Polk