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Psychiatric Research Institute

Angie Waliski, Ph.D.

waliski

Position

Assistant Professor, Division of Health Services Research, PRI
Health Research Scientist, Health Services Research and Development, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System

Contacts

VA Phone: (479) 713-0485
UAMS E-mail: adwaliski@uams.edu
VA E-mail: Angie.Waliski@va.gov

Research Expertise

Dr. Angie Waliski is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor with a decade of clinical experience with children and families living through issues of substance abuse, mental health diagnoses, trauma, sexual assault, and suicide. After obtaining a PhD in counselor education, she worked in school, university, residential, clinical, and day treatment settings. In addition, she has extensive leadership experience that includes being a past president of the Arkansas Counseling Association, a branch of the American Counseling Association (ACA), and a member of the board of the ACA Association of Counselors and Educators in Government division. As a result of this leadership, she has received several state and national awards, including the 2008 American Counseling Association’s Emerging Leader Award and Professional of the Year in 2012 for contributions made to the profession of counselors and educators in government. During her one-year experience in the Interprofessional Polytrauma and Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Clinical Fellowship program sponsored by the Veterans Health Administration, she used her relationship with state and national counseling associations to disseminate evidence-based strategies to school counselors, educators, and policymakers about how school counselors can support military families. She is highly involved with VA/SAMHSA Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenge for the Prevention of Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families, and more recently Dr. Waliski’s research has focused on the use of certified peer specialist with lived experience in substance abuse and/or mental illnesses for intervention delivery.

Her early career focused on the provision of clinical services through community-based organizations. In 2005, she was appointed to the Arkansas Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and served in that position for 10 years. In that role, she was a key author of the recommendations that supported the development of a child safety center network throughout the state. She is currently a governor-appointed mental health professional and co-chair of the Arkansas Suicide Prevention Council, for which the goal is to provide legislators with a data-driven plan for the implementation of a statewide suicide prevention program. Her research with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System has focused on suicide prevention and assisting individuals who experience trauma in an effort to prevent mental health distress and suicide. She has a firm belief that suicide prevention requires a public health approach that utilizes the strengths and expertise of all individuals, families, and communities. She brings to this research both her clinical expertise in trauma and counselor education and the qualitative and quantitative research skills she has developed through her fellowship training. Her suicide prevention research has included working with the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention to implement and evaluate the Department of Defense “Partners in Care” program, which strengthens support for service members and Veterans. She has also conducted key informant interviews for the Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention with family members who have lost service members or Veterans to suicide. Her HSR&D-funded pilot study, “Context and Characteristics of Non-Fatal Suicide Attempts Involving Firearms,” explored the context of non-fatal suicide attempts and ideations involving firearms.

Research Interests: suicide prevention, trauma, peer support, and community engagement

Recent Publications

Current Publications (2012-2019)

  1. Waliski A. “An evaluation of sexual assault agencies and the services available to male victims.” Doctoral dissertation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. 2001.
  2. Waliski A, Carlson L. “Group work with preschoolers: Effects on emotional awareness and behavior.” Journal for Specialist in Group Work. 2008; 33(1):
  3. Waliski A. “An introduction to expressive and creative techniques for counselors in training.” Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. 2009;4(4): 375-385.
  4. Waliski A, Bokony P, Edlund CN, Kirchner J. “Counselors called to service: Impact of parental deployment on preschool children.” The Family Journal. 2012; 20(2):157-163. doi: 10.1177/1066480712438531.
  5. Waliski A, Kirchner JE, Shue VM, Bokony PA. “Psychological trauma of war: Training school counselors as front line responders.” Journal of Rural Health.2012; 1-S,doi: 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2012.00404.
  6. Waliski A, Bokony PA, Kirchner JE. “Combat-related parental deployment: Identifying the impact on families with preschool-age children.” Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 2012;22(6): 653-670.doi:10,1080/10911359.2012.2655621.
  7. Waliski A, Kirchner JE. “Joining Forces: Counselors collaborating to serve military families.” Journal of Military and Government Counseling. 2013; 1(1): 19-25.
  8. Waliski A, Blevins D, Spencer HJ, Kirchner J. “Family relationships, mental health, and injury among OEF/OIF Veterans postdeployment.” Journal of Military Behavioral Health. 2013;1(2): 100-106.
  9. Bokony PA, Whiteside-Mansell L, Swindle T, Waliski AD. “Increasing parent-teacher communication in private preschools.” NHSA Dialog. 2013; 16(1): 45-64.
  10. Waliski A. “Suicide among Veterans and the implications for counselors.” American Counseling Association, VISTAS Online. 2013. http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/VISTAS_Home.htm.
  11. Waliski A, Ray D, Kirchner JE. “School counselors’ observations of OEF/OIF children and families: Identifying opportunities for assistance.” Journal of Military and Government Counseling. 2013; 1(2): 101-110.
  12. Waliski A, Townsend, J., Cheney, A.M., Sullivan, S., Hunt, J., & Curran, G.M. (2014). Establishing community partnerships for the prevention of mental   distress and suicide in military personnel and veterans. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 2(1), 2-15.
  13. Waliski A, Townsend, J. C., Castro, M., Cheney, A. M. (2014). Developing an Interview Guide to Evaluate Non-Fatal Suicide Attempts in Veterans: Use of a Modified Delphi Method. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 2(2), 88-106.
  14. Waliski, A., Townsend, J. C., Castro, M., Doan, B. R., Kirchner, J.E., Owen, .R., and Conner, K. R. (2015). Navigating the Institutional Review Board System to Conduct Suicide Re­search. Annals of Public Health Research, 2(4), 1028.
  15. Waliski, A., Matthieu, M. M., Townsend, J. C., Castro, M., & Kirchner, J. (2016). Training as a recruitment strategy for building military and community partnerships with faith-based organizations: The Partners in Care Program. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 4(1), 2-11. Retrieved from http://acegonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/JMGC-Vol-4-Is-1.pdf
  16. Cheney, A. M., Abraham, T., Sullivan, S., Russell, S., Swain, D., Waliski, A, Lewis, C., Hudson, C., Candler, B., Hall, S., & Hunt, J. (2016). Using community advisory boards and peer-led services for rural student veterans, Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 10(3), 355-364.
  17. Waliski, A., Matthieu, M. M., Townsend, J. C., Castro, M., Kirchner, J. (2017). Engaging Faith Based Organizations to Assist Service Members and Veterans: An Evaluation of Partners in Care. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 5(1), 20-37. Retrieved from http://acegonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/JMGC-Vol-5-Is-1.pdf
  18. Waliski A, Townsend JC, Matthieu MM, Edlund CN, Castro M, Kirchner (2017) J.  Training Rural Community Leaders in Suicide Prevention: Operation S.A.V.E. Outcomes. Journal of Military and Government Counseling. Vol 5(2): 87-102.
  19. Waliski, A., Matthieu, M. M., Townsend, J. C., McGaugh, J., & Kirchner, J.  (2017). Characteristics of Veterans Seriously Ideating or Attempting Suicide by Firearm: Conceptual Framework for a Mixed Methods Study. Journal of Veterans Studies, Vol 2(2).
  20. Waliski, A., Matthieu, M., Townsend, J., McGaugh, J., Kirchner, J. (2017). Understanding Veteran Suicide by Firearm. Journal of Veterans Studies, 2(2), 91-109
  21. Waliski, A., Rabalais, A. E., Castro, M., & Townsend, J. C. (2018). Counselors assisting veterans to engage in services: A rural community-engaged program. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 6(3), 171-182. Retrieved from http://acegonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/JMGC-Vol-6-Is-3.pdf.
  22. Waliski, A, Matthieu MM, Townsend JC, McGaugh J, Adkins, D., Skaggs, E. Allison, KM, Kirchner JE. (2021) Characteristics and Context of Veterans with Serious Ideation or Suicide Attempt by Firearm which led to Hospitalization. Archives of Suicide Research. doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2021.1974625.  
  23. Wilson, MP, Kaur, J, Blake, L., Oliveto, AH, Thompson, RG, Pyne, JM, Wolf, L. Walker, AP, Waliski, AD, Nordstrom, MD (2021). Adherence to guideline creation recommendations form suicide prevention in the emergency department: A systematic review. American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 50.
  24. Wilson, MP, Waliski, A, & Thompson RG (2022). Feasibility of peer-delivered suicide safety planning in the emergency department: Results from a pilot trial. Psychiatric Services in Advance (doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202100561).
  25. Allison, M.K., Waliski, A., Haynes, T., & Marshall, S.A. (2022). Formative Evaluation of Zero Suicide in the Emergency Department: Identifying Strategies to Overcome Implementation Barriers. Evaluation and Program Planning. DOI: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2022.102050
  26. Waliski, A., Matthieu, M.M., Allison, M.K., Wilson, M.P., Skaggs, E.M., Adkins, D.A., & Owen, R.R. (In Press) Emergency Departments Treating Veterans for Suicide: Ensuring Quality Care for Veterans Outside of the VA Facilities. Journal of Emergency Nursing