David Eric Lopez
Projects I Support:
Get to know me
I am an experienced mental health professional with over a decade of leadership in clinical services, suicide prevention, crisis response and stabilization. I have worked as a therapist for foster youth, served as a crisis co-responder alongside law enforcement and served in a crisis stabilization unit in California. I directed a 988-suicide prevention program for the central valley and as a trainer for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST 11) have delivered various evidence-based trainings. In that role, I developed trainings to support the use of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSR-S) and delivered keynotes for community events and tribal organizations.
I have extensive experience in suicide prevention, de-escalation, crisis intervention, and assessment techniques. I have provided training, technical assistance, and program development support to behavioral health and public health systems across California and Maryland. My work includes advancing youth suicide prevention initiatives, strengthening partnerships along the crisis continuum of care, including first responders and mental health systems. I have collaborated with state, county agencies and community-based organizations to promote innovative, evidence-based practices in suicide prevention, intervention and behavioral health crisis response systems. I promote trauma-informed, person-centered approaches to care throughout the behavioral health field, as I believe every person is the expert on their life and our role is to come alongside them for support and offer guidance.
I have a specialization in sports psychology and bring a holistic and practical perspective to integrating mental and physical well-being in both clinical practice and non-clinical practices. Outside of my professional work, I am an avid hiker, backpacker, garage gym goer, and runner. I am passionate about the role of movement and physical activity in enhancing mental health and personal resilience. My current research investigates how interventions such as physical activity, mindfulness, and resilience-building strategies can reduce suicide risk and foster self-reliance.