About the Program
FLAME is a Wisconsin-based firearm lethal means safety initiative developed at the intersection of clinical psychology, suicide prevention research, and public health.
Milwaukee VA Medical Center
Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)
Milwaukee VA Medical Center
5000 W. National Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53295
About Bertrand Berger, Ph.D.
Dr. Bertrand Berger is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. He holds a faculty affiliation in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). His clinical work focuses on mental health service delivery, suicide prevention, and evidence-based intervention development for veteran and high-risk populations.
Dr. Berger developed the FLAME program in his roles at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center and the Medical College of Wisconsin in response to a recognized gap in the lethal means safety landscape: the absence of a self-administered, non-clinical, non-stigmatizing firearm safety assessment tool that integrates storage practices with household psychosocial context and delivers personalized, motivationally informed feedback without requiring clinician involvement.
Why FLAME
In clinical practice, Dr. Berger observed that effective lethal means counseling was consistently limited in reach — available to patients who presented to care, but inaccessible to the far larger population of at-risk firearm owners who never engaged with mental health services. This is particularly acute in veteran populations, where firearm ownership rates are high, suicide risk is elevated, and stigma around mental health help-seeking remains a significant barrier.
FLAME was designed to bridge that gap: a tool deployable through channels firearm owners already trust — gun shops, shooting ranges, veteran service organizations, and primary care waiting rooms — rather than clinical settings.
Wisconsin as the Pilot Site
Wisconsin was selected for the initial FLAME pilot because of its existing infrastructure through the Wisconsin Gun Shop Project, its substantial veteran population served by the Milwaukee VA and three additional Wisconsin VA facilities, its significant rural and agricultural communities, and its high firearm ownership rates relative to national averages.
Affiliations & Contact
Clinical Psychologist
Milwaukee VA Medical Center
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin
5000 W. National Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53295
For research collaboration, clinical implementation inquiries, or partnership discussions, please contact through the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.
Development & Theory
The FLAME program’s full methodology, theoretical basis, scoring rules, and current validation status are openly available on the Development & Theory page. The FLAME score is not yet independently validated; its weights reflect expert judgment, and grant proposals are being developed to fund the reliability and validity research needed to test it. If you are interested in assisting with the validation or promotion of the program, please contact support@flameprogram.org.
Program Independence & Disclaimer
FLAME is an independent program developed by Dr. Berger. It does not represent the official position, policy, or endorsement of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, or the Medical College of Wisconsin; affiliations are listed to describe the developer's background. FLAME is an educational and research tool, not a clinical assessment, and your use of it does not create a clinician–patient relationship. See the Privacy Policy for how information is handled.