Practical for Your Practice

“What signs did I miss?” “Are people judging me?” “Should I even be in this field?” The suicide of a loved one triggers many thoughts and emotions in survivors. When the survivor is a mental health professional, those thoughts and emotions can be even more complicated, leading them to question their own skills and capabilities. On this episode we are joined by Dr. Andrew Devendorf, a psychologist who is also a survivor of suicide loss. He and Carin share their experiences in coping with the suicide of a loved one, how it impacted their professional lives, and how silencing the stigma can be. Our Actionable Intel provides resources for healing and connection.

Andrew Devendorf, Ph.D., is a Military Behavioral Health Psychologist with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. He serves as a subject matter expert in suicide prevention for the VA SAFEGUARD project.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: www.afsp.org
National Alliance for Mental Illness: www.nami.org
My Brother Went Missing, And The Search For Him Turned My World Upside Down, an article by Andrew Devendorf: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/missing-brother-search_n_5d67e1a5e4b063c341fc2782
Surviving the Impossible: Reflections on Suicide Loss, an article by Andrew Devendorf: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deeper-mental-health/202502/surviving-the-impossible-reflections-on-suicide-loss
The Hilliest Course I’ve Ever Run, a blog by Carin Lefkowitz: https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/staff-perspective-hilliest-course-i%E2%80%99ve-ever-run-coping-suicide-loved-one
An Afterword to “The Hilliest Course I’ve Ever Run,” a blog by Carin Lefkowitz: https://deploymentpsych.org/blog/staff-perspective-afterword-%E2%80%9C-hilliest-course-i%E2%80%99ve-ever-run%E2%80%9D

Calls-to-action:
Keep the conversation going. If you’re a survivor or suicide loss, reach out to trusted friends, colleagues, or organizations. Don’t grieve alone. If you know a survivor, reach out to them.
Share your impactful moment in the comments or via https://www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
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In this episode, hosts Dr. Jenna Ermold and Dr. Kevin Holloway tackle a critical "blind spot" in military mental health with Dr. Shane Kraus, Director of the Behavioral Addictions Lab at UNLV. While we often screen for alcohol and PTSD, there is a "hidden" addiction quietly devastating the lives and careers of Service members and Veterans. From the high-tech lure of AI-driven sports betting apps to the surprising presence of slot machines on overseas bases, gambling disorder is a rapidly growing crisis that often goes undetected until it’s too late.
Dr. Kraus joins us to explain the "banana analogy" and the dangerous neurobiology of the "near miss" that keeps the brain hooked. We discuss why military culture might make this addiction so difficult to spot, the staggering link between "chasing losses" and Veteran suicide, and the simple questions you aren't asking that could save a life. If you’ve ever wondered why a patient with stable PTSD suddenly spirals into a crisis, this conversation on the first-ever recognized behavioral addiction is a must-listen.

Shane W. Kraus is a licensed clinical psychologist and expert in psychopathology, substance use disorders, gambling disorders, and compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD). He is an associate professor of psychology who has published over 250 scholarly works on substance use disorders/behavioral addictions (e.g., gambling), psychopathology, compulsive sexual behavior, and trauma. Dr. Kraus received his PhD in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University in 2013. He completed his addiction fellowship at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry in 2015.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
National Council on Problem Gambling: ncpgambling.org
UNLV Behavioral Addictions Lab: Reach out for validated screening tools and research. https://ba.sites.unlv.edu/
State Councils on Problem Gambling: Check your local state chapter for clinician training and toolkits.

Calls-to-action:
Ask about financial stress and obtain additional training on gambling disorder
Share your impactful moment via email (cdp-podcast-ggg@usuhs.edu) or via https://www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email

Your hosts are back for season 8 of P4P! This season we’ll have more conversations with experts in the field of evidence-based practice. But we want to get back to the personal stories behind their professional accomplishments. This season we’ll highlight the “impactful moments” that shaped them and keep them engaged in this difficult work. We’re kicking off the season by sharing our own impactful moments. Listen in as we discuss the unexpected interactions that uncovered our own biases and changed our perspectives about clinical practice.

Calls-to-action:
Notice your own “impactful moments” and call on them when the work gets hard
Notice when you might be catastrophizing and use those impactful moments to recalibrate
Share your impactful moment in the comments or via https://www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email

After 11 episodes of talking about the “sins” of evidence-based practice, we’re wrapping up season 7 by finding out “what’s in the box?” Our guests this season have covered a wide range of topics related to EBPs, including reducing suicide risk, and working with maternal mental health, OCD, and nightmare disorders. While the individual topics may have spanned the broad field of clinical practice, there was a surprising amount of overlap in the “sins” that our guests have encountered. On our final episode of season 7, your P4P hosts notice the common themes between these sins and which ones we’d invite to our own private awards show. Tune in to find out who the nominees are!

Resources mentioned in this episode:
Provider Self-Assessment Checklist (PSAC): A checklist your hosts created based on the “sins” discussed this season. It’s a quick way to check in on your own knowledge and comfort in broad areas of evidence-based practice.

Calls-to-action:
Use the Provider Self-Assessment Checklist to assess your own vulnerability to EBP “sins”
Subscribe to the Practical for Your Practice Podcast
Submit your comments or questions on our social media pages or via https://www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p
Subscribe to The Center for Deployment Psychology Monthly Email

The world feels a bit cray-cray right now and your hosts are feeling fatigued, on edge, and crispy. We took a moment to ask, “how are you really doing?”, and didn’t allow each other to answer “fine.” It’s a challenge for many of us in the helping professions to acknowledge our own distress, make time for self-care, and accept help from others. On this episode, we practice what we preach by acknowledging how stress is affecting our personal and professional lives. We explore what gets in the way of good self-care and how we’ve tried to be authentically and imperfectly present with ourselves, each other, and the people we help.