INCLUDING CAMS TRAINING IN YOUR GRANT

As awareness for the need of suicide prevention strategies in our communities continues to increase, a growing number of organizations and government agencies are offering grants to help groups fund suicide prevention training. You are encouraged to explore federal, state, and local funding opportunities.

A couple of the most popular federal funding grants, offered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), include: the Garrett Lee Smith grant and the Zero Suicide grant.

The CAMS Approach to assessing and treating suicide risk readily meets the criteria for most of these grants. To this end, the following CAMS-related information can be used to help complete your grant applications:

Description of Evidence-Based Practice Being Used

CAMS stands for the “Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality” (CAMS). Backed by 30 years of research, the CAMS therapeutic framework is a suicide-focused assessment and treatment tailored to a patient’s suicidal risk. It is a flexible approach that can be used across theoretical orientations and disciplines for a wide range of suicidal patients across treatment settings and within different treatment modalities. One of the foundations of the CAMS framework is having the patient complete portions of the “Suicide Status Form” (SSF) in collaboration with the clinician. The SSF is used at the start and end of every CAMS session, assessing suicide risk and carefully documenting the patient’s suicide-focused treatment plan tailored to their needs.

CAMS is supported by eight published non-randomized trials and four published randomized controlled trials (RCT’s), which are the “gold standard” of proving that a treatment is effective in an acausal manner. There is additional support for CAMS from an unpublished RCT and four on-going RCT’s of CAMS are being performed in the US and abroad (two in Seattle, one in San Diego, and an inpatient RCT in Germany). To date, there is no suicide-focused intervention with more clinical trial support than CAMS.

Replicated data across various clinical research studies show the CAMS approach to suicidal risk:

• Quickly reduces suicidal ideation in 6-8 sessions;
• Reduces overall symptom distress, depression, changes suicidal cognitions, and decreases hopelessness;
• Increases hope and improves clinical retention to care;
• Is liked by patients who use it;
• May be optimal for suicidal ideators;
• The best proven treatment for randomized trials
• Decreases Emergency Department (ED) visits among certain subgroups;
• Appears to have a promising impact on self-harm behavior and suicide attempts;
• Is relatively easy to learn, and become adherent.

Research Justifying Use of the Evidence-Based Practice with your Population of Focus

Click on the population below for information on the research justification that you’re looking for:

• Native Americans
• Outpatients
• Primary Care/Behavioral Health
• Private Practice
• School Settings
• Veterans
• Telehealth
• University Counseling Center Settings
• Zero Suicide Policy Initiative

How Staff Are Trained to Implement the Evidence-Based Practice

Staff will be trained by CAMS-care, the only authorized trainer of the CAMS Approach to reducing suicide risk. CAMS-care offers an integrated training model that enables most clinicians to become adherent to this evidence-based approach with their first CAMS patient and clinicians frequently report that this training model provides them with the confidence and clarity to use CAMS effectively with patients.

The training model includes: (1) the CAMS Book; (2) a 3-hour online clinical demonstration of the use of CAMS with a patient through the course of 12 sessions, including the development of a viable CAMS Stabilization Plan, how to identify patient-defined “drivers” of their suicidal risk and the creation of a collaborative treatment plan; (3) practical role-play training with an authorized CAMS expert, which will include group discussion to strategize challenging case presentations, and how to apply the CAMS approach to a specific population of focus; (4) up to six months of consultation calls with a CAMS expert to answer questions and help new CAMS clinicians with current CAMS cases.

Cost of CAMS Training

In order to become CAMS adherent, the cost of books, online videos, in-person role-play training and consultation calls can vary by group size between $8,000 for a group of 20 or fewer to $24,000 for a group of 100 clinicians.

In addition, CAMS-care offers educational training for large groups of clinicians and non-clinicians to learn about the field of suicidology, suicidal drivers, assessment and treatment options. These educational sessions are available for groups of up to 300 attendees at a price of $4,250.

How Fidelity of the Evidence-Based Practice is Monitored

The CAMS Rating Scale (CRS) can be used to monitor adherence and fidelity to the CAMS framework. The CRS is supported by two published scientific papers attesting to its psychometric validity and reliability. CAMS-care can assist in the establishment of adherence and fidelity to the model.

For more information, review SAMHSA’s manual: Developing a Competitive SAMHSA Grant Application (PDF)