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Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Evaluate when and how to escalate care (e.g., emergency department referral, hospitalization) based on dynamic suicide risk indicators.

  • Demonstrate how to initiate and conduct a collaborative conversation with patients and families about reducing access to firearms, medications, and other lethal means.

  • Design individualized intervention plans, including safety planning, lethal means counseling, and collaboration with care teams based on assessed suicide risk level.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this session is to strengthen providers’ ability to intervene effectively during acute suicidal crises, reduce access to lethal means, and develop individualized safety and treatment plans that are well-documented and coordinated across care teams.

Description

This session will prepare participants to evaluate when and how to escalate care, such as initiating emergency department referrals or hospitalization based on dynamic indicators of suicide risk. Attendees will also learn how to initiate and conduct collaborative, patient-centered conversations with individuals and their families about reducing access to firearms, medications, and other lethal means. Finally, this session will guide clinicians in designing individualized intervention plans that incorporate safety planning, lethal means counseling, and coordinated collaboration with care teams, tailored to the assessed level of suicide risk.

Target Audience

  • Addiction Professional
  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Nurse
  • Physician
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker

Presenters

Kartiki Churi, MD
Dr. Kartiki Churi is a board-certified psychiatrist and Regional Medical Director at FamilyCare Center, where she oversees clinical operations and leads the organization’s initiatives in advanced neuromodulation and education. She is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and completed her residency in Psychiatry at the University ofColorado School of Medicine, where she also served as Chief Resident.Dr.Churi specializes in interventional psychiatry, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and esketamine therapy, with a focus on treatment-resistant depression,anxiety disorders, and mood dysregulation. She is deeply involved in clinical training and serves as a key faculty leader for FCC’s APP TMS Boot Camp and psychiatry education programs. Before joining Family Care Center, Dr. Churi held academic appointments within the University of Colorado Department of Psychiatry and worked in both outpatient and consult-liaison psychiatry settings. Her professional interests include evidence-based treatment integration, mentorship of early-career clinicians, and the advancement of interventional psychiatry in community behavioral health systems.
Mireille Reece, PsyD
Dr. Mireille Reece is a licensed clinical psychologist with over two decades of experience in neuropsychology, trauma, and performance psychology. She serves as a consulting psychologist and national presenter on topics including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), executive function, trauma-informed care, and brain-based approaches to behavior change. Dr. Reece earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the APA-accredited Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University and completed postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Reece has held senior clinical and executive leadership roles across multiple healthcare organizations, most recently as Executive and Regional Director forRosewoodCenters for Eating Disorders, overseeing inpatient, residential, and day-treatment programs across Arizona. Previously, she served as Regional Vice President of ClinicalOperations and Director of Clinical Services for Refresh Mental Health, where she led quality improvement and evidence-based clinical standardization across national behavioral health networks. A frequent lecturer and podcast guest, Dr. Reece has presented internationally on the neuroscience of habit formation, adult ADHD, and the psychology of motivation and resilience. She is also co-host ofBrain Science, a podcast exploring the intersection of neuroscience, emotion, and performance. Her clinical interests include neuropsychological assessment, trauma recovery, and the application of neuroscience to enhance well-being and professional performance.
Candice Leimkuhler, MS, LPC
Candice Leimkuhler is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Regional Director at FamilyCare Center, where she provides executive oversight for clinical operations, program development, and quality initiatives across multiple behavioral health clinics in the South Denver region. She brings over two decades of leadership experience in mental health services, crisis response, and program administration, with expertise in quality improvement, trauma-informed care, and strategic growth of multidisciplinary care teams.Before joining Family Care Center, Ms. Leimkuhler served as Clinical Director atCommunity Reach Center, overseeing more than 90 staff and managing over $13 million in behavioral health program budgets. Her previous leadership included directing crisisservices and emergency response programs, developing suicide prevention and resiliencytraining, and advancing system-wide initiatives in collaboration with the ColoradoBehavioral Healthcare Council and the Office of Suicide Prevention. She holds a Master ofScience in Counseling and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Missouri StateUniversity, and a certificate in Strategic Leadership in Healthcare Management from theUniversity of Denver. Ms. Leimkuhler’s professional focus includes crisis stabilization,organizational leadership, and clinician well-being through her Provider Resiliency Program at Family Care Center.