Spreading the Columbia Protocol to save the lives of soldiers, veterans

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - Since about 2016, suicide has been the number one cause of death for service members and veterans. It’s an issue that experts and the American Legion are working to combat with the Columbia Protocol.

The Columbia Protocol was developed by Dr. Kelly Posner from Columbia University, according to Dr. Adam Walsh, a mental health provider at Columbia. This approach to addressing suicide in the armed services and veterans was developed from research “about understanding suicide risk, the type of questions, the order of questions to ask, and has been subject to much research over the last decades,” he explained. “Many research articles have shown that this is a good way to ask about suicide in the questions, and this is kind of the standard that the Center of Disease Control and the National Institute of Mental Health, they use this for their research as well.”

Walsh trained members of the American Legion in Fairbanks about the protocol in an effort to spread the tools to prevent suicide. “Veteran suicide is the most significant issue facing our veterans and their families,” said Dan Wiley, the National Commander for the American Legion. “I think probably everybody has been touched by somebody, whether it’s acquaintance, friend, family member, whatever it may be that has taken their life.”

During the training, statistics about the rise of suicide in veterans and active-duty service members was discussed. Such included the rise of suicide among service members which peaked in 2022, with 49,476 veterans and soldiers dying from suicide.

Walsh also discussed risk factors for suicide which included a history of trauma, disrupted social networks, health issues, stressors such as financial issues and access to lethal means like firearms.

The training included debunking myths about suicide, such as the belief that talking about suicide implants the idea in people that had not talked about suicide. But addressing suicide with an individual is the crux of prevention. That’s where the Columbia Protocol comes in.

That protocol is made up of six questions meant to assess someone’s risk of suicide.

They included questions about whether or not the person being assessed had thought of death or suicide, if they have a plan and if they have a means to carry out the plan.

Addressing the thought of suicide means understanding what suicidal thoughts look like. “Some people go through some difficult times and they may have, you know, a fleeting thought about, you know, I don’t really want to be here or times are tough and life’s not worth living. And then there’s a person who does think about, okay, the pressure of life is added up and I’m really thinking about you know, ending my life and I know how I would do it,” Walsh said. The former are considered passive thoughts but developing a plan is a sign of high risk.

Practicing the protocol was a vital part of the training too, which attendees were able to do with each other. “Understanding the questions, getting comfortable with it can be very, very helpful so they feel more confident and more comfortable in asking the questions,” Walsh said.

By spreading the skills to prevent suicide in soldiers and veterans, the hope is that the number of suicides can be reduced as more people can provide the needed help or at least identify when others need help.

Resources to help veterans and soldiers that are suicidal include 9-8-8, otherwise known as the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, as well as mental health providers in the community.

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