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"The person who commits suicide puts his psychological skeleton in the survivor's closet " (p.22).

- Schneidman, E. S., Farberow, N. L. & Litman, R. E. (1970). The Psychology of Suicide. New York, N.Y.: Jason Aronson, Inc.

Psychologists are expected to be the expert; the clinician who conducts therapy with people who attempt suicide or provides postvention counseling to survivors. Psychologists can help suicidal persons.   Psychologists know that not every suicide can be prevented and that having a client die by suicide can leave an emotional toll on you as a clinician and a survivor.

The very thought of suicide and suicidal behavior stirs up intense emotional reactions regardless of the outcome. Fear, anxiety, disbelief and anger are but a few of the emotions that psychologists face in their suicide prevention work.

The Facts

The evidence suggests that suicide is among one of the most common psychiatric emergencies that psychologists encounter. Recent studies indicate that the average practicing psychologist may treat up to five suicidal patients per month, and as many as one-third of psychologists have lost a patient to suicide (Reference 2).

While there are no easy formulas for assessing risk for suicide and intervention, there are an assortment of useful guidelines generally accepted as best practices. Each client presents a multi-factored set of features that comprise their suicidality.   Increasing knowledge about the best practices for assessing risk and developing dynamic care plans is a key step toward prevention.

Developed with the support of NIMH SBIR contract # N44MH22044

© Copyright iTeleHealth Inc., 2004

Last Updated: July 2004