A recent grant from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will allow Benjamin Lok, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering, to train healthcare students and practitioners on how to express empathy when interacting with patients who have suicidal ideation. The project is titled \u201cVirtual Interaction Training in Emotional Self-Awareness for Working with Suicidal Patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Lok is working with Igor Galynker, M.D., Ph.D., associate chairman for research in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and the director of the Suicide Research and Prevention Laboratory at Mount Sinai. They and their team of researchers have created virtual patient simulations that allow users to interact with a virtual patient that is undergoing significant challenges in their life. The system provides both an opportunity to practice responding to high-stakes situations as well as automatic evaluation of empathy using machine learning techniques.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow medical professionals respond to a patient that expresses suicidal comments has a significant impact on the patient\u2019s actions, including attempting suicide,\u201d Dr. Lok said. \u201cDespite how important physician communications skills are in such situations, there are limited ways to practice and receive feedback about one\u2019s skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
The researchers approach aims to revolutionize how healthcare personnel train to communicate and express empathy with patients that are contemplating suicide. At the end of the project, the team hopes to demonstrate the viability of training with virtual patients. The team plans to create a tangible training program that would scale to many institutions, and plans on pursuing future grants that focus on dissemination.<\/p>\n
Whether you are experiencing test-related stress, anxiety related to your new surroundings, or any other concern, big or small, the university has resources to help you get through it. Services include short-term counseling, group, and couples\u2019 therapy as well as consultation, crisis services, outreach, referrals, self-care, and more. The university is committed to ensuring that each student gets connected with the best-fitting campus or community resources to meet their existing needs.<\/p>\n