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8 Discussion of Interactive Session Reports and Synthesis of the Symposium
Pages 67-72

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From page 67... ... One such theme was "the importance of thinking about facilitating transitions for different groups." Another theme centered "getting local," or, "the importance of addressing social determinants at a very localized level" in part by empowering communities to do some of this work. A third theme was the use of "non-mental health professionals for suicide prevention." Among those mentioned were veteran service organizations, trained law enforcement personnel, and veteran peer mentorship programs, he noted. Read the entire page →
From page 68... ... Moderator and committee member Rajeev Ramchand added that caring for the current cohort of veterans involves helping deal with the aftermath of MST in the past; and at the same time, "we prepare for the safety of future veterans." In this, he remarked, "it is so important for the DoD [Department of Defense] to be working on preventing MST and creating social environments that do not perpetuate MST." One participant noted that existing and new legislation that doesn't support women veterans even though they exist in high numbers and have a disproportionately high suicide rate, and "the main reason is military sexual trauma." Evelyn Lewis observed that MST is "endemic throughout the military." She noted that 2021 had the "highest number of MSTs within the service academies that had ever been recorded since they've been collecting the data." Lewis also stressed the importance of approaching this problem with patient's perspective and also "the big picture" in mind: that is, other challenges that arise as a result of MST. Read the entire page →
From page 69... ... Looking at international data shows "the same basic trend" -- a "sort of depths of despair phenomenon" visible in the United States and internationally. But, he noted, it is also reasonable to think that it may not be "simply a cohort effect, because the kind of risk factors we have been talking about predict this increase in suicide rates, particularly in younger and middleaged people across these different countries." He acknowledged that this big picture perspective "overlooks a whole lot of variability that is regional and cultural and personal," but looking at the increase from this perspective does seem to indicate that "the variability in these predictors" may be behind it. Read the entire page →
From page 70... ... Optum Serve supports veterans in this way and has a strong peer support system with "a number of virtual and interactive platforms," he said. He urged listeners to look into what such businesses might offer, as they look for collaborative partners and build coalitions. Read the entire page →
From page 71... ... The fifth term Strauman included in his synthesis was "logistics," meaning "how do we get the resources that people need to them." This might include "everything from broadband to trucks" as well as help connecting to services and resources; and such work must be done at all levels, he commented, including "individual community meetings" as well as "virtual, online, national conferences, and academies." "Politics" was the sixth and last term Strauman mentioned, calling it "an elephant in the room." He commented, "some of these topics are not going to be [politically] popular, and yet we owe it to our veteran population to be as courageous and open as we can about it in these discussions." Ramchand continued the synthesis by highlighting the conversation around the need for more, better quality, and more timely data. Read the entire page →
From page 72... ... preventing veteran suicide, the level of interest." He expressed "great hope that we are indeed going to make a difference." Read the entire page →

From page 67...

... One such theme was "the importance of thinking about facilitating transitions for different groups." Another theme centered "getting local," or, "the importance of addressing social determinants at a very localized level" in part by empowering communities to do some of this work. A third theme was the use of "non-mental health professionals for suicide prevention." Among those mentioned were veteran service organizations, trained law enforcement personnel, and veteran peer mentorship programs, he noted.

Read the entire page →

From page 68...

... Moderator and committee member Rajeev Ramchand added that caring for the current cohort of veterans involves helping deal with the aftermath of MST in the past; and at the same time, "we prepare for the safety of future veterans." In this, he remarked, "it is so important for the DoD [Department of Defense] to be working on preventing MST and creating social environments that do not perpetuate MST." One participant noted that existing and new legislation that doesn't support women veterans even though they exist in high numbers and have a disproportionately high suicide rate, and "the main reason is military sexual trauma." Evelyn Lewis observed that MST is "endemic throughout the military." She noted that 2021 had the "highest number of MSTs within the service academies that had ever been recorded since they've been collecting the data." Lewis also stressed the importance of approaching this problem with patient's perspective and also "the big picture" in mind: that is, other challenges that arise as a result of MST.

Read the entire page →

From page 69...

... Looking at international data shows "the same basic trend" -- a "sort of depths of despair phenomenon" visible in the United States and internationally. But, he noted, it is also reasonable to think that it may not be "simply a cohort effect, because the kind of risk factors we have been talking about predict this increase in suicide rates, particularly in younger and middleaged people across these different countries." He acknowledged that this big picture perspective "overlooks a whole lot of variability that is regional and cultural and personal," but looking at the increase from this perspective does seem to indicate that "the variability in these predictors" may be behind it.

Read the entire page →

From page 70...

... Optum Serve supports veterans in this way and has a strong peer support system with "a number of virtual and interactive platforms," he said. He urged listeners to look into what such businesses might offer, as they look for collaborative partners and build coalitions.

Read the entire page →

From page 71...

... The fifth term Strauman included in his synthesis was "logistics," meaning "how do we get the resources that people need to them." This might include "everything from broadband to trucks" as well as help connecting to services and resources; and such work must be done at all levels, he commented, including "individual community meetings" as well as "virtual, online, national conferences, and academies." "Politics" was the sixth and last term Strauman mentioned, calling it "an elephant in the room." He commented, "some of these topics are not going to be [politically] popular, and yet we owe it to our veteran population to be as courageous and open as we can about it in these discussions." Ramchand continued the synthesis by highlighting the conversation around the need for more, better quality, and more timely data.

Read the entire page →

From page 72...

... preventing veteran suicide, the level of interest." He expressed "great hope that we are indeed going to make a difference."

Read the entire page →

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8 Discussion of Interactive Session Reports and Synthesis of the Symposium Pages 67-72

8 Discussion of Interactive Session Reports and Synthesis of the Symposium
Pages 67-72