individual be kept safe. At all times, however, services act in a way that promotes the least restrictive environment for the person. If you do not feel the individual is safe, ask them to accompany you to the local ED, call the local crisis team or call an ambulance.
- Be an effective and resourceful listener – Throughout a crisis, being an open, kind and attentive listener can make all the difference. You should openly offer support and care. Using a sense of non-judgement, assist in exploring alternatives to the problems in the life of the individual contemplating suicide and alternatives to self-harm. Assist in identifying coping strategies and external support, while simultaneously validating the distress the individual is experiencing.
Experienced professionals utilise a range of different techniques that vary in intensity depending on their assessment of the situation. This can occasionally lead to hospital admissions but most often consists of regular therapy sessions with an initial focus on ensuring safety, providing support and considering alternatives to suicide. Some clinician’s seek commitment to a plan via contracting, although these remain controversial due to the current lack of clear efficacy in the scientific literature. Once the immediate crisis has been averted, treatment will often consider those psychological vulnerabilities that may have contributed to the person’s behaviour.
Peter Walker has over 12 years experience working as a clinical psychologist. He has worked in both public and private practice, having specialised in complex presentations. He established his private practice, Peter Walker & Associates, clinical psychologists, in 2002 as a service to provide psychological treatments for those experiencing difficulties with anxiety, depression and couples in distress. In addition, the practice was relatively unique in that it offered specialised treatments for those experiencing psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder. At the time Peter Walker & Associates was established the development of psychological treatments for these conditions was in its infancy and Peter was considered an innovator in this field. Peter provides clinical supervision for mental health practitioners, is a sought after presenter and has experience providing expert opinion in the media. In recognition of his experience treating mood disorders he has been asked to take on a role at the Black Dog Institute in 2013.
Jay Spence – Clinical Psychologist and PhD Candidate
Who wouldn’t want to keep another safe from the self-destructive thoughts of suicide? To support another through the darkest time in their life is a very human thing to do; however, what you may not know is that it is might be impossible to tell if someone will attempt suicide.
Suicide screening is where people use all kinds of methods like questionnaires and interviews to try to tell if someone is at serious risk of committing suicide. There are dozens and dozens of techniques, but very few of them work well. Plus, those that do are not very accurate.
How do we know this? Findings on suicide screening are based on three systematic reviews that were published in the last decade. A systematic review is where a group of scientists read through all the research papers on a topic like suicide prevention. They look at all the individual findings together and come up with a conclusion based only on the facts they have. Reviews are important in research because they offer the best chance to really understand what works and what doesn’t for something as important as suicide prevention.
One of these reviews said that almost all of the screening tools for suicide were inaccurate with the exception of the ‘Beck Hopelessness Scale’ and the ‘Scale for Suicidal Ideation.’ Even these scales were not particularly good at being able to tell if someone would harm themselves. Although all three reviews said that there were lots of screening tools that were promising for children, adolescents and adults, there was no conclusive evidence to say that they work. This isn’t saying t