APA has long been committed to the mental health and wellbeing of military personnel, veterans and their families. The association’s priorities include preventing suicide and promoting well-being by enhancing the quality, continuity and integration of care, says Heather O’Beirne Kelly, PhD, the director of APA’s military and veterans health policy. In 2019, APA submitted testimony to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies urging Congress to provide funds in 2020 for the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue extending throughout its system two data-based suicide prevention programs with promising results: its REACH VET screening system, which is based on predictive analytics, and its Safety Planning Intervention, involving hospital emergency department follow-up protocols.
The association has also brought APA member experts on veterans and suicide prevention to Washington, D.C., to speak directly to policymakers, and has endorsed bills addressing the issue of suicide in the military such as S. 785, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, which is dedicated to improving mental health care provided by the VA, with a specific focus on suicide prevention.
“Suicide is so hard to affect in terms of numbers, so when you find something that works, it’s so important to expand it to the entire VA health-care system as quickly as possible,” Kelly says.
