Suicide risk assessment frameworks and crisis intervention steps for the practicing clinical counselor.
35 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What is Gerald Caplan's definition of a psychological crisis?
Show answer
A state that occurs when a person faces an obstacle to important life goals that seems insurmountable through their usual coping methods.- About how long does an acute crisis state typically last before some resolution occurs?
Show answer
About 4 to 6 weeks.- What is passive suicidal ideation?
Show answer
Thoughts of wanting to be dead or not wanting to wake up, without a plan or intent to act.- What is active suicidal ideation?
Show answer
Thoughts of wanting to kill oneself, with some degree of intent to act on the thoughts.- In risk assessment, what does the 'plan' component refer to?
Show answer
Whether the person has worked out a specific method, time, and place for suicide.- In risk assessment, what does 'intent' refer to?
Show answer
How determined the person is to act on suicidal thoughts and end their life.- Why is assessing access to lethal means a critical step in suicide risk assessment?
Show answer
Because ready access to a lethal method greatly increases the chance an attempt will be fatal.- What is the single strongest predictor of future suicide?
Show answer
A prior suicide attempt.- What is the main purpose of the SAD PERSONS scale?
Show answer
To give clinicians a quick, structured checklist of risk factors for estimating suicide risk.- Give an example of a protective factor against suicide.
Show answer
Strong social support, such as close family or friend connections.- How do religious or cultural beliefs commonly function as a protective factor?
Show answer
They can create moral objections to suicide that discourage a person from acting on suicidal thoughts.- What is means restriction counseling?
Show answer
Working with a suicidal person and their support network to limit access to lethal methods, such as firearms or excess medication.- What is a safety planning intervention?
Show answer
A collaboratively written, prioritized list of coping strategies and supports a person can use during a suicidal crisis.- Why do most modern clinicians favor a safety plan over a traditional no-suicide contract?
Show answer
A safety plan gives concrete coping steps, while a no-suicide contract only extracts a promise and has no evidence of preventing suicide.- What are chronic (distal) risk factors for suicide?
Show answer
Longstanding vulnerabilities, such as a history of mental illness or past trauma, that raise baseline risk over time.
FlashKeepers