Understanding suicide risk

There are a range of circumstances in which psychologists might become involved which relate to suicide prevention. Some might find themselves working with clients who express suicidal ideation and/or intent. Others might work in environments in which the prevention of suicide is a priority, such as schools or prisons. They might also find themselves drawn into discussions where their advice is sought on how to support children and young people when suicide is discussed in the media.

Contemporary theories and models for understanding suicide increasingly incorporate a focus on social determinants of health and other significant underlying factors which may exacerbate risk for individuals and communities. Risk assessments typically have involved a process of ticking a series of questions to categorise risk as low, medium or high, yet research in the 1990s raised concerns about the lack of validity of this approach. The challenges of predicting suicide risk, therefore, continue to be explored in the literature and are obviously of critical importance to all psychologists who engage with clients.

Although psychologists will be aware of the need to be vigilant about suicide risk in their day-to-day interactions with clients, many might feel uncertain about current evidence-based approaches. This may be the case if their initial psychology training was completed some time ago or if they feel that it did not address suicide prevention, assessment and management in sufficient detail. If they have not had the opportunity to undertake recent training to support their practice, they may be concerned about the currency of their knowledge and skills in responding appropriately with clients.

Exploring these concerns during supervision can be an effective way to address this, however, keeping up-to-date with the latest research can prove challenging. Given the importance of recognising and responding appropriately to clients who express suicidal ideation or intent, this is a topic that requires ongoing reflection and learning. The APS Institute will present four webinars in February and March 2018 offering psychologists the chance to explore the role of suicide prevention in their work and become more aware of evidence-based approaches to suicide prevention.