How to Identify Suicidal People: A Systematic Approach to the Assessment of Suicide

It is a dangerous mistake for mental health practitioners to assume that patient/client suicide happens so infrequently that they don't really have to worry about it. In fact, studies have shown that psychiatrists have a startling 50 percent chance of suffering the blow of a patient's suicide and clinical psychologists have a 20 percent chance. Even students run a high risk. For psychiatric residents, patient suicide is actually considered a common occurrence and psychologists in graduate clinical programs have a 1 in 7 chance of encountering the suicide of a patient.

For health care practitioners, the emotional upheaval of losing a patient in this tragic way, coupled with the sharp rise in the incidence of financially crushing, career-destroying malpractice lawsuits, makes it clear that those responsible for evaluating suicide potential have no choice but to conduct suicide risk assessments that are both clinically sound and legally defensible...not only for the safety of their patients but for their own emotional and professional well-being as well.

In an effort to help practitioners with the daunting task of evaluating suicide risk potential in their patients (a misdiagnosis can very well mean the death of a patient), Dr. Thomas White, a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience in suicide assessment, has developed an entirely novel method - an actual system - of conducting risk assessments that are clinically relevant and legally defensible. This is the first attempt ever to simplify and organize the risk assessment process into a logical, structured format, with practical guidelines and specific step-by-step instruction that can be followed from the beginning of the assessment to the end. Embracing a multidimensional, biopsychosocial approach, the system addresses all of the risk factors and clinical techniques that make up a thorough and insightful risk assessment

Because assessments that follow this system are driven by objective data about the client that are based on well-researched risk factors, clinicians will feel confident that they have based their determinations of risk on information that is accepted by most professionals (and courts) instead of on their own personal assumptions and theories. An important and pioneering addition to the scant literature on suicide risk assessment, this new system will make the task of identifying suicide potential more accurate, reliable and safe.

WHO IS IT FOR? Designed for use by all practitioners, regardless of the setting in which they work (e.g., hospital, correctional facility, mental health clinic, school, drug or alcohol treatment program, nursing home, private practice, etc.), their background (e.g., psychology, psychiatry, medicine, corrections and police work, social work, nursing, human resources, etc.) or level of training (whether seasoned professional or student just starting out).