What Therapists Should Actually Do for Suicidal Clients: Assessment, safety planning, and least intrusive intervention
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
Release Date: 10/03/2022
Private Practice Planning for the Future of Mental Healthcare: An Interview with Maureen Werrbach
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
Private Practice Planning for the Future of Mental Healthcare: An Interview with Maureen Werrbach Curt and Katie interview Maureen Werrbach of the Group Practice Exchange on upcoming trends for mental healthcare. We talk about what is predicted, how to prepare your private practice for success in 2023, and how to plan for unexpected changes to our profession. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! An Interview with Maureen Werrbach, LCPC, The Group Practice Exchange Maureen Werrbach established The Group Practice Exchange after starting her private practice, Urban Wellness, and...
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Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Thoughts on investing and getting paid as a therapist
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Thoughts on investing and getting paid as a therapist Curt and Katie chat about money: considerations for investing and getting paid as a therapist. We look at typical unpaid opportunities and how to decide whether to do them. We also talk about client care practices that may take time, but could keep clients. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about money mistakes that many therapists make We talk a lot about making sure that therapists get paid, but thought it was worth talking about when therapists...
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How to Manage Your Practice as a Traveling Therapist: An Interview with Kym Tolson, LCSW
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
How to Manage Your Practice as a Traveling Therapist: An Interview with Kym Tolson, LCSW Curt and Katie interview Kym Tolson, the traveling therapist. We look at how a modern therapist can be a digital nomad, including what business logistics to consider as well as how to travel well. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! An Interview with Kym Tolson, LCSW I'm Kym Tolson, I'm an LCSW and CSAC licensed in the state of Virginia. I have an online insurance-based therapy practice. I lived in Florida until 2/2/22 when we (my BF and I) became digital nomads. Now, we will live in...
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Smarter than SMART: How therapists can improve goal-setting with clients
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
Smarter than SMART: How therapists can improve goal-setting with clients Curt and Katie chat about setting goals. We look at why goals are important to therapists, SMART goals (what they are, what works and what doesn’t), and how to move beyond SMART goals to more robust goal setting and behavior design. This is a continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about how to strengthen your goal-setting skills Many therapists learn SMART Goals and objectives as the primary tools for creating treatment plans. Oftentimes, goal...
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Navigating the Social Media Self-Diagnosis Trend
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
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What Therapists Should Know About Sexual Health, Monkey Pox, and the Echoes of the AIDS Epidemic: An Interview with Mallory Garrett, LMFT
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
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It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships Curt and Katie chat about dual relationships. We talk about the types of dual relationships, how often therapists get in trouble for these types of relationships, how to manage dual relationships, and the ethical decision making process to go through to decide whether to engage in a dual relationship. This is a law and ethics continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about ethical decision making to navigate dual relationships We take a...
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How Can Therapists Help Couples Recover from Infidelity?: An Interview with Dr. Talal H. Alsaleem
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
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Why Aren’t Men Becoming Therapists Anymore?
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
Why Aren’t Men Becoming Therapists Anymore? Curt and Katie chat about the lack of male therapists and the decreasing number of male students in the profession. We look at current statistics and reported experiences of men in the field. We also dig into what needs to change to balance gender representation and increase the number of men becoming therapists. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about male therapists Continuing forward within men’s health month, we are looking at the state of the profession for male therapists....
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Why Men Don’t Stay in Therapy
The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy
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info_outlineWhat Therapists Should Actually Do for Suicidal Clients: Assessment, safety planning, and least intrusive intervention
Curt and Katie chat about suicide assessment, safety planning, and how to keep clients out of the hospital. We reviewed the Integrated Motivational Volitional Model for Suicide, we talked about what therapists should be assessing for in every session, what strong assessment looks like (and suggested suicide assessment protocols), and why the least restrictive environment is so important when you are designing interventions and safety planning. This is a continuing education podcourse.
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode we talk about suicide assessment, safety planning, and intervention
We continue our conversation on suicide, progressing from risk factors (from last week’s episode) to how to assess and safety plan with the least intrusive interventions at the earliest stages.
Review of the Suicide Model: Integrated Motivational Volitional Model by O’Connor and Kirtley
- Continued to review the IMV model (graphic in the show notes at mtsgpodcast.com)
What should therapists assess for in every session, related to suicide?
“When clinicians are burnt out, when we have caseloads that are too big, when we aren't taking care of ourselves, we tend to [think], “Okay, this client is at a six, they can live at a six for a while,” which is absolutely true. And if they can [live with this level of suicidality], and they have the good factors that allow them to live there – great. It's just how close are they to that 7, 8, 9?” – Curt Widhalm, LMFT
- Moderating motivational factors, which move clients from passive to more active suicidality (or the reverse)
- Looking at what is keeping someone from being at risk for suicide (protective factors)
- The importance of knowing our clients well before they move into the volitional phase
- Understanding the clinician factors and putting structure around assessment
Assessment for Suicide
“Assessment is intervention.” – Curt Widhalm, LMFT
- SAMHSA’s GATE protocol
- Gather information using a structured assessment tool (Columbia Scale, LRAMP)
- Looking at intention, means, plan as well as risk and protective factors
- Moving into a safety plan
- The importance of recognizing the human during the assessment (versus focusing only on the protocol or your liability)
- Seeking supervision or consultation – don’t do this alone
The importance of using the least restrictive intervention for suicide
“There is a rupture in the therapeutic relationship when you are sending your client or facilitating a hospitalization against their will. It can save their lives …but that may not always be the case.” – Katie Vernoy, LMFT
- The idea of “responsible” action
- The range of options for keeping a client safe
- Having a conversation with the client on how to avoid attempting suicide
- The potential impacts of hospitalization, including trauma
- The danger of hospitalizing someone who does not need this level of intervention
- Additional intervention between sessions
- The practicalities to set up your schedule and your practice to support your clients and your self
- Additional risk factors (transition phases between providers)
Our Generous Sponsors for this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide:
Thrizer
Thrizer is a new modern billing platform for therapists that was built on the belief that therapy should be accessible AND clinicians should earn what they are worth. Their platform automatically gets clients reimbursed by their insurance after every session. Just by billing your clients through Thrizer, you can potentially save them hundreds every month, with no extra work on your end. Every time you bill a client through Thrizer, an insurance claim is automatically generated and sent directly to the client's insurance. From there, Thrizer provides concierge support to ensure clients get their reimbursement quickly, directly into their bank account. By eliminating reimbursement by check, confusion around benefits, and obscurity with reimbursement status, they allow your clients to focus on what actually matters rather than worrying about their money. It is very quick to get set up and it works great in completement with EHR systems. Their team is super helpful and responsive, and the founder is actually a long-time therapy client who grew frustrated with his reimbursement times The best part is you don't need to give up your rate. They charge a standard 3% payment processing fee!
Thrizer lets you become more accessible while remaining in complete control of your practice. A better experience for your clients during therapy means higher retention. Money won't be the reason they quit on therapy. Sign up using bit.ly/moderntherapists if you want to test Thrizer completely risk free! Sign up for Thrizer with code 'moderntherapists' for 1 month of no credit card fees or payment processing fees! That’s right - you will get one month of no payment processing fees, meaning you earn 100% of your cash rate during that time.
Simplified SEO Consulting
Have you spent countless hours trying to get your website just right and yet, it's not showing up on Google and it doesn't seem like anyone's able to find it? Simplified SEO Consulting has a unique solution. They've been training therapists to optimize their websites, so they show up better on Google for the past 4 years. But let's face it, with the busy schedules we all keep it can be hard to find the time to optimize your website even when you learn how. So, they are hosting a 16 day cruise in July 2023 going from LA to Hawaii and back. When you join them, you'll get intensive SEO education and coaching during the 10 days at sea. Most importantly, you'll have plenty of time to sit next to the pool and implement everything you've learned and then ask their team for feedback. Yes, it's the perfect excuse for a Hawaii vacation. But it's also a time to both learn about SEO and actually implement what you learn.
The upcoming cruise is a unique opportunity to learn to optimize your own website, have time to practice what you learn and the ability to get feedback from leading SEO professionals in our field.
To reserve your spot before it fills up, go to https://simplifiedseoconsulting.com/training-cruise-for-better-seo/
Receive Continuing Education for this Episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide
Hey modern therapists, we’re so excited to offer the opportunity for 1 unit of continuing education for this podcast episode – Therapy Reimagined is bringing you the Modern Therapist Learning Community!
Once you’ve listened to this episode, to get CE credit you just need to go to moderntherapistcommunity.com/podcourse, register for your free profile, purchase this course, pass the post-test, and complete the evaluation! Once that’s all completed - you’ll get a CE certificate in your profile or you can download it for your records. For our current list of CE approvals, check out moderntherapistcommunity.com.
You can find this full course (including handouts and resources) here: https://moderntherapistcommunity.com/podcourse/
Continuing Education Approvals:
When we are airing this podcast episode, we have the following CE approval. Please check back as we add other approval bodies: Continuing Education Information
CAMFT CEPA: Therapy Reimagined is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LPCCs, LCSWs, and LEPs (CAMFT CEPA provider #132270). Therapy Reimagined maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Courses meet the qualifications for the listed hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. We are working on additional provider approvals, but solely are able to provide CAMFT CEs at this time. Please check with your licensing body to ensure that they will accept this as an equivalent learning credit.
Resources for Modern Therapists mentioned in this Podcast Episode:
We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!
SAMHSA’s TIP with the GATE Protocol
COLUMBIA-SUICIDE SEVERITY RATING SCALE
LINEHAN RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL (LRAMP)
References mentioned in this continuing education podcast:
Carmel, A., Templeton, E., Sorenson, S. M., & Logvinenko, E. (2018). Using the Linehan Risk Assessment and Management Protocol with a chronically suicidal patient: A case report. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 25(4), 449-459.
Goldman-Mellor S, Olfson M, Lidon-Moyano C, Schoenbaum M. Association of suicide and other mortality with emergency department presentation. JAMA Netw Open. 2019; 2(12):e1917571.
Interian, A., Chesin, M., Kline, A., Miller, R., St. Hill, L., Latorre, M., ... & Stanley, B. (2018). Use of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to classify suicidal behaviors. Archives of suicide research, 22(2), 278-294.
Linehan, M. M., Comtois, K. A., & Ward-Ciesielski, E. F. (2012). Assessing and managing risk with suicidal individuals. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(2), 218-232.
Pinals, D. A. (2019). Liability and patient suicide. Focus, 17(4), 349-354.
Posner, K., Brent, D., Lucas, C., Gould, M., Stanley, B., Brown, G., ... & Mann, J. (2008). Columbia-suicide severity rating scale (C-SSRS). New York, NY: Columbia University Medical Center, 10.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); (2009. Addressing Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors in Substance Abuse Treatment [Internet]. Rockville (MD): (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 50.) Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64022/
*The full reference list can be found in the course on our learning platform.
Relevant Episodes of MTSG Podcast:
Part 1: Risk Factors for Suicide: What therapists should know when treating teens and adults
Rage and Client Self-Harm: An interview with Angela Caldwell
Who we are:
Curt Widhalm, LMFT
Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and CSUN, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com
Katie Vernoy, LMFT
Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also a former President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com
A Quick Note:
Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.
Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.
Stay in Touch with Curt, Katie, and the whole Therapy Reimagined #TherapyMovement:
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Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/