This retrospective study compared CAMS — a collaborative, structured approach to suicide risk assessment — against standard care in 55 military outpatients. CAMS patients resolved suicidality faster (~7 sessions vs. ~11 for TAU) and used significantly less non-mental health medical care afterward. No differences were found in hospitalization or suicide attempt rates. The authors conclude CAMS shows early promise but call for larger, randomized studies to confirm results.
Authors: David A. Jobes, PhD, Steven A. Wong, PhD, Amy K. Conrad, MA, John F. Drozd, PhD, and Tracy Neal-Walden, PhD
About the Author
David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP
David Jobes, PhD, ABPP, is the founder of CAMS-care, LLC. He began his career in 1987 in the Counseling Center of the Catholic University of America, where he developed a suicide risk assessment tool for college students that evolved into CAMS. Dr. Jobes is now a Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of Clinical Training at Catholic; he has trained thousands of mental health professionals in the United States and abroad in evidence-based assessment and treatment of suicide risk and the use of CAMS.