Where You Work: Outpatient Practice

The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality vs. Treatment as Usual: A Retrospective Study with Suicidal Outpatients

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

View Full Article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality in the Aftercare Focus Study: Costs, Benefits, Cost-Effectiveness, and Cost-Benefits

This dissertation by Phoebe McCutchan examines whether the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) — a suicide-focused therapy — offers economic advantages over standard care for recently discharged psychiatric patients. Using data from a randomized controlled trial, the study finds that CAMS was less costly, comparably or more effective at reducing suicidal ideation, and more cost-effective and cost-beneficial than standard care, suggesting it delivers better value in resource-constrained healthcare settings.

 

Text on the button

The Suicide Status Form-4 (SSF-IV) as a Potentially Therapeutic Suicide Risk Assessment Tool

Date: March 22, 2024

The first direct empirical test of a long-standing claim: that the SSF — the core assessment instrument within CAMS — is not just a risk assessment tool but a therapeutic intervention in its own right. Working with 57 high-risk patients on an inpatient psychiatric consultation-liaison service at a Level 1 trauma center, the authors used CAMS-Brief Intervention (CAMS-BI) and tracked subjective distress (SUDS) across five time points within each session. Pre-to-post-session distress dropped significantly across patients, with a trend favoring Section A of the SSF.

Authors: Nicolas Oakey-Frost, Emma H. Moscardini, Tovah Cowan, Jessica L. Gerner, Kathleen A. Crapanzano, David A. Jobes, and Raymond P. Tucker.

Read the full article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

A Developmentally Informed Approach to the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS) for Adolescents (CAMS-4Teens™) and Engaging Parents in Treatment

Date: September 22, 2022

The developmental adaptation of CAMS for adolescents introduces the CAMS Parent Report Form (CAMS PRF), a clinical tool designed to bring parents into suicide-specific treatment in a structured but flexible way. This paper offers practical guidance for clinicians on assessing parent strengths and needs, integrating parent perspectives without compromising the youth’s collaborative relationship with the therapist, and using the PRF to inform treatment and discharge planning.

Authors: Jennifer B. Blossom, Abby Ridge-Anderson, Molly C. Adrian, and David A. Jobes.

Read the full article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

Advancing Suicide Intervention Strategies for Teens (ASSIST): Study Protocol for a Multisite Randomised Controlled Trial

Date: December 12, 2023

ASSIST is the protocol for a three-arm RCT comparing the Safety Planning Intervention with structured follow-up (SPI+), the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), and enhanced usual care for adolescents transitioning from acute to outpatient care after a suicidal crisis. Conducted across two pediatric hospitals, it will help build the evidence base for brief, scalable, suicide-specific interventions for youth.

Authors: Molly Adrian, Elizabeth McCauley, Robert Gallop, Jack Stevens, David A Jobes, Jennifer Crumlish, Barbara Stanley, Gregory K Brown, Kelly L Green,  Jennifer L Hughes, Jeffrey A Bridge

Read the Full Article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality for Teens: A Promising Frontline Intervention for Addressing Adolescent Suicidality

Date: June 4, 2021

A pilot open trial of CAMS adapted for adolescents (CAMS-4Teens) with 22 outpatient teens ages 13–17 who presented with elevated suicidality. The model was found  feasible, acceptable, and delivered with high clinician adherence, with a large effect-size reduction in suicidal thoughts — preliminary evidence supporting a fully powered trial of CAMS as a frontline treatment for youth at risk.

Authors: Molly Adrian, Jennifer B. Blossom, Phuonguyen V. Chu, David Jobes, Elizabeth MeCauley,

Read the full article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

Reducing Short-Term Suicide Risk After Hospitalization: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality

Date: September 19, 2022

This randomized controlled trial tested whether the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), delivered through a “next-day appointment” outpatient clinic, reduced suicidal thoughts and behaviors more effectively than treatment as usual (TAU) for adults discharged after a suicide-related hospitalization. One hundred fifty participants — all with at least one lifetime suicide attempt — were randomized to CAMS or TAU and followed for 12 months.

Authors: Comtois, K. A., Hendricks, K. E., DeCou, C. R., Chalker, S. A., Kerbrat, A. H., Crumlish, J., Huppert, T. K., & Jobes, D.

Read the full article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

The Content of Patient-Identified Suicidal Drivers within CAMS Treatment Planning

Date: December 12, 2022

CAMS treats suicide by targeting the “drivers” patients themselves identify as fueling their suicidality. Prior research mapped suicidal ideation on the Suicide Status Form into four dominant themes — relationships, role responsibility, the self, and unpleasant internal states — but the drivers brought into treatment planning had never been studied. Analyzing 332 drivers from 166 patients across two randomized controlled trials, Lynch, Bathe, and Jobes find the same four themes account for roughly 70% of the data, with direct implications for how clinicians focus suicide-specific care.

Authors: Thomas Lynch, Victoria Colborn Bathe, and David A. Jobes

Read the full article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

The Hope Institute Approach to Suicidal Risk

Date: March 10, 2025

The Hope Institute offers a groundbreaking alternative to traditional suicide care. Rather than relying on costly emergency visits or hospitalizations, THI provides intensive, evidence-based outpatient treatment using two proven approaches — CAMS and DBT — to stabilize individuals in crisis and help them build a life worth living. With a 98% successful discharge rate and treatment costs significantly lower than conventional care, The Hope Institute is redefining what effective suicide-focused care looks like.

Authors: Derek Lee & David Jobes

Read the Full Article

About the Author

David A. Jobes Ph.D. ABPP

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.

See More Articles by this Author

What Stops People Seeking Help?

A compelling evidence-based talk examining why suicide prevention in the UK continues to fall short — not from lack of effort, but from intervening too late, persistent stigma, and treatments not designed for suicidality. Professor Zaffer Iqbal, Clinical Director of Psychological Services, University of Hull, presents a clear case for redesigning how and when we engage people at risk.