This Friday is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. MUSC’s Turning the Tide Violence Intervention Program is participating in "Wear Orange Day" as part of this national event. They will be in the Medical District Greenway from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday (with speakers from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.) and are encouraging others across campus to wear orange to remember lives lost to gun violence and raise awareness of this public health epidemic.

The National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center (NMVVRC), based within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is reaching out to work with many communities affected by recent events of mass violence. A list of available resources is available below.

Resources for parents, caregivers and teens

• Assisting parents/caregivers in coping with collective traumas, via the National Child Trauma Stress Network (NCTSN), in which MUSC is involved | read here.
• Parent guidelines for helping youth after the recent mass shooting, via NCTSN | read here in English | read here in Spanish.
• Helping teens with traumatic grief – tips for caregivers, via NCTSN | read here.
• Tips for talking with and helping children and youth cope after a disaster or traumatic event: a guide for parents, teachers and caregivers, via Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) | read here.
• For teens: coping after mass violence, via NCTSN | read here in English | read here in Spanish.

Resources for coping and managing distress

• The National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center (NMVVRC)* self-help app, Transcend NMVC, is available on both Apple and Android mobile phones. 
• Trauma cues related to mass violence incidents | read here.
• Twelve self-help tips for coping in the aftermath of mass violence incidents | read here.
• Tips for survivors: coping with grief after a disaster or traumatic event, via SAMHSA | read here.
• Managing distress: grounding tips for crime victims, survivors and family members of mass violence incidents | read here.
• Mindfulness and meditation to support resilience after mass violence | read here.
• Trauma-informed mindfulness and meditation | read here.
• Mass violence resources with child and family focus, via NCTSN | read here in English | read here in Spanish.

*About the NMVVRC: The National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center is located at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and receives funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. Learn more about us at www.nmvvrc.org. 

Dr. Allison Wilkerson was awarded the John R. Raymond Mentoring Fellowship through the ARROW Program, which provides support for a female faculty member to initiate a professional relationship with an external mentor. Dr. Wilkerson will be working with Dr. Kelly Dunn at Johns Hopkins University to better understand best practices in the use of pharmacalogical and behavioral sleep interventions to assist in improving opioid treatment outcomes.

CPT Web2.0, the NCVC-sponsored online course that teaches Cognitive Processing Therapy, an evidence-based treatment for PTSD and related disorders, has been shared with numerous mental health professionals in Ukraine and Poland (where many Ukrainian refugees have settled). Free access to the course has been shared with over 150 providers in those countries who have been participating in a brief training with Dr. Patricia Resick, the founding developer of Cognitive Processing Therapy. While it's very sad that war has increased the regional need for this training, it is gratifying to know that our Department's educational offerings may be involved in easing the suffering of individuals who have been affected. 

Applications are currently being accepted for the next cohort of the Enhancing Diversity in Alcohol Research (EDAR) training program! This two-year, fully virtual, NIAAA-sponsored training program is open to psychology doctoral trainees from underrepresented backgrounds (per NIH NOT-OD-20-031). No prior alcohol research experience is required.

As part of the new MUSC Health and Wellness Institute that recently opened in Mount Pleasant, SC, a newly established Mindfulness Center will be offering a range of mindfulness and resiliency-based classes, workshops, individual sessions, and retreats.  These offerings are not considered mental health counseling, therefore will not be billed through any insurance or be diagnosis driven. However, they may be a useful complementary service for patients seen within Psychiatry, for trainees themselves, as well as for faculty and staff. 

Of note, we will be starting up a 4-week closed group series on Introduction to Mindfulness beginning the first week in March (5:30pm Monday March 7^th) and will repeat monthly. This closed group is great for anyone wanting to learn more about the basic principles of mindfulness in a welcoming and nonjudgmental environment. 

In addition, we will be running an 8-week closed Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) group beginning the first week in April (4:30pm Wednesday April 6^th).

All services are currently virtual and do not require you to be in the state to participate!

Please see the attached brochure to learn more. 

It’s time for the 2022 Charleston Area AFSP Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk!

The MUSC Psychiatry Team will be walking this year in support of suicide prevention. Last year, the MUSC Psychiatry Team raised OVER $5,000 and was the Top Fundraising Team for the event! Let’s show our support again this year!

FENTANYL URINE TEST NOW OFFERED BY

THE CLINICAL NEUROBIOLOGY LAB (CNL)

The use of the powerful opiate drug, FENTANYL is on the rise, accounting for a large share of overdose deaths in SC, and the greater US.

Previously, urine drug testing at MUSC could not detect Fentanyl use. The Clinical Neurobiology Laboratory has recently completed an extensive validation of a qualitative (positive vs negative) urine test for the presence of Fentanyl which can be used to distinguish this drug from other commonly used/abused opiates such as oxycodone, buprenorphine and morphine. This test should aid clinicians in the evaluation of patients in multiple clinical settings, especially when illicit drug use is suspected.

Simply order: “Fentanyl, Urine, Qual (IOP LAB)” or “LAB9066”