David A. Jobes

David A. Jobes (born 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American clinical psychologist. He is currently serving as a Professor of Psychology, Director of the Suicide Prevention Laboratory, and Associate Director of Clinical Training at The Catholic University of America. His areas of focus are on Clinical psychology, Suicide prevention, Clinical Suicidology, Ethics and Risk Management, and clinical risk assessment. In August 2022, he was awarded the Alfred Wellner Award for Lifetime Achievement by The National Register of Health Service Psychologists.

Education and career

Jobes earned a bachelor's degree (BA) cum laude in psychology from the University of Colorado in 1981. He then enrolled at American University, Washington DC where he received a M.A. in General Psychology in 1984 and obtained a PhD in Clinical psychology from in 1988. His clinical internship was completed at the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center (1986–1987). Between 1989 and 1990 he became a licensed Psychologist in Maryland and District of Columbia.Jobes was appointed to serve as the Assistant Director of the National Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide between 1991 and 1995. In 1995, he was the Treasurer of the American Association of Suicidology. He was awarded by the American Association of Suicidology the Edwin S. Shneidman award for his contributions to suicidology. In 1998, Jobes was elected President of the American Association of Suicidology where he served until 1999.

Since 2003, he has served as the President, board of directors, Washington Psychological Center. Between 2001 and 2005 he was Director of the General Masters Degree Program, Psychology Department,The Catholic University of America. He is also the Associate Director of Clinical Training, Catholic University of America. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and is a board certified Clinical Psychologist by American Board of Professional Psychology. Jobes maintains a private clinical and consulting practice in Washington D.C and in Maryland.

He is the author of seven books and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles.

Academic career

In 1987, Jobes joined the Department of Psychology at The Catholic University of America. Between 1987-1992, Jobes was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at The Catholic University of America. In 1992, he became an Associate Professor at the same institution until 2002. In 2002, Jobes was promoted to a full Professor at The Catholic University of America. He was also appointed Director of The Catholic University of America Suicide Prevention Lab. In 2013, Jobes was appointed Adjunct professor of Psychiatry School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Research areas and contributions

The research focus of the Catholic Suicide Prevention Lab is centered on clinical risk assessment (using both quantitative and qualitative methods) and treatment of suicidal risk with different suicidal populations in different clinical settings. In recent years Jobes has particularly focused his research on clinical interventions for patients who are suicidal patients using a novel therapeutic approach called the "Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality"—CAMS). Jobes and his team are currently engaged in funded clinical trials to investigate the effectiveness of CAMS with patient who are suicidal using CAMS in the US and other countries. There are ten published open clinical trials supporting CAMS, and there are seven published Four randomized controlled trials supporting CAMS, along with two meta analyses. Another five RCTs are now underway and various feasibility trials are being developed for using CAMS with different populations around the world.

In 2014, Jobes founded CAMS-care, LLC to train clinicians in CAMS to save lives through effective care.

Jobes has been a consultant of the US military. His lab has long been involved in VA and military suicide prevention pursuing empirical research with both veterans and active duty personnel who are suicidal. As a professor he teaches courses in clinical psychology, ethics and professional practice, psychotherapy, research methods, clinical theory, assessment interviewing, and a graduate seminar on suicide.

Selected publications

Books

• Cimbolic, P., & Jobes, D. A. (1990). Youth suicide: Issues, assessment, and intervention. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
• Berman, A. L., & Jobes, D. A. (1991). Adolescent suicide: Assessment and intervention. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Also translated into the Italian language by Edizioni Scientifiche Magi—translation by Bruna Maccarrone).
• Berman, A. L., Jobes, D. A., & Silverman, M. M. (2006). Adolescent Suicide: Assessment and Intervention (2nd Edition).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Michel, K. & Jobes, D. A.  (2011). Building a therapeutic alliance with the suicidal patient. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
• Jobes, D. A. (2016). Managing suicidal risk: A collaborative approach. New York: The Guilford Press.

Journal articles

• Jobes, D. A. (1995).  The challenge and the promise of clinical suicidology. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 437–449.
• Jobes, D. A. (2000). Collaborating to prevent suicide: A clinical-research perspective. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 30, 8–17
• Jobes, D. A. (2012). "The collaborative assessment and management of suicidality (CAMS): An evolving evidence-based clinical approach to suicidal risk". Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 42 (6): 640–653. doi:10.1111/j.1943-278X.2012.00119.x. PMID 22971238.
• Jobes, David A. (December 2017). "Clinical assessment and treatment of suicidal risk: A critique of contemporary care and CAMS as a possible remedy". Practice Innovations. 2 (4): 207–220. doi:10.1037/pri0000054. ISSN 2377-8903. S2CID 80428600.
• Jobes, David A.; Chalker, Samantha A. (2019). "One Size Does Not Fit All: A Comprehensive Clinical Approach to Reducing Suicidal Ideation, Attempts, and Deaths". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16 (19): 3606. doi:10.3390/ijerph16193606. ISSN 1660-4601. PMC 6801408. PMID 31561488.
• Jobes, David A.; Joiner, Thomas E. (2019). "Reflections on Suicidal Ideation". Crisis. 40 (4): 227–230. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000615. ISSN 0227-5910. PMID 31274031. S2CID 195806598.
• Jobes, David A. (2020-11-01). "Commonsense Recommendations for Standard Care of Suicidal Risk". Journal of Health Service Psychology. 46 (4): 155–163. doi:10.1007/s42843-020-00020-3. ISSN 2662-2653. S2CID 226201710.