Name
Who do we call? Lessons from Developing a Suicidality Protocol for a Free Student-Run Clinic in North Carolina’s Evolving Mental Health System
Description
This session will introduce essential mental health crisis and involuntary commitment (IVC) vocabulary and discuss the importance of developing a suicidality protocol in clinical settings. We will use the example of North Carolina’s evolving mental health and IVC systems to illustrate how policy changes impact clinicians managing patients in crisis.
Using the UNC Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) as a case study, we will walk through how our team engaged policy personnel, community members, and providers to create a clinic-specific protocol. Attendees will be guided through developing their own decision trees and discuss real-world applications of protocols and key challenges for clinics implementing crisis response strategies.
Speakers
Eliza Filene, Medical Student (MS4), UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC
Sarah Belcher LCSW, CTM, Police Crisis Unit Supervisor, Chapel Hill Police Department,
Danielle Lowe MD, PhD, Board certified in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Assistant Clinical Professor, Medical Director of Crisis Inpatient unit, UNC Suicide Prevention Institute, Department of Psychiatry, UNC School of Medicine,
Sarah Belcher LCSW, CTM, Police Crisis Unit Supervisor, Chapel Hill Police Department,
Danielle Lowe MD, PhD, Board certified in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Assistant Clinical Professor, Medical Director of Crisis Inpatient unit, UNC Suicide Prevention Institute, Department of Psychiatry, UNC School of Medicine,
Co-Authors
Eliza Filene, BA, Sarah Belcher, LCSW, CTM, Helen Newton, PhD, MPH, Danielle Lowe, MD
Content Level
Intermediate
Tags
Policy, Quality improvement programs, Suicide
Session Type
Concurrent
Objective 1
Identify key structural changes in North Carolina’s crisis mental health system, including policy shifts, impact of Medicaid expansion, and new crisis response resources available in communities across the state.
Objective 2
Describe essential components of an effective suicidality protocol in clinical settings, using the UNC Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) case study as a framework.
Objective 3
Develop a decision tree for a practice-level crisis response by mapping local resources, engaging community partners, and addressing patient-specific challenges.
Content Reference 1
Lombardi and Lanier. Responding to North Carolina’s Behavioral Health Workforce Crisis. 2023. https://carolinaacross100.unc.edu/responding-to-north-carolinas-behavioral-health-workforce-crisis/
Content Reference 2
NC DETECT. Annual ED visit trends for mental health conditions. 2024. Accessed Feb 18, 2025. https://ncdetect.org/mental-health-dashboard/.
Content Reference 3
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). National Guidelines for Behavioral Health Crisis Care: Best Practice Toolkit. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2020. Accessed September 10, 2024. https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/national-guidelines-for-behavioral-health-crisis-care-02242020.pdf.
Content Reference 4
Horowitz, L. M., Snyder, D. J., Boudreaux, E. D., He, J. P., Harrington, C. J., Cai, J., ... & Bridge, J. A. (2020). Validation of the ask suicide-screening questions for adult medical inpatients: a brief tool for all ages. Psychosomatics, 61(6), 713-722.
Content Reference 5
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). Crisis Services. 2024. Accessed March 6, 2025. https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/mental-health-developmental-disabilities-and-substance-use-services/crisis-services.