Jobes earned a bachelor's degree (BA) cum laude in psychology from the
University of Colorado in 1981.[5] 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.[6]
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.[13] 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).[14] 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.[15] 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.[16][17]
In 2014, Jobes founded CAMS-care, LLC to train clinicians in CAMS to save lives through effective care.[18]
Jobes has been a consultant of the
US military.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21][22]
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.