Textbook of Suicide Assessment And Management - 9781585622139

Suicide risk assessment is a core competency that mental health professionals are expected to acquire during their training, yet the reality of potential suicides can prove daunting for busy practitioners faced with an overload of information on the subject. This book meets that challenge head-on by providing clinically useful information for anyone encountering patients at risk for suicide.

The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Suicide Assessment and Management calls on the authority of 40 expert contributorsincluding members of the APA's Workgroup on Suicidal Behaviors, who developed the APA Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Patients With Suicidal Behaviorsreflecting a wide range of clinical and forensic experience. The authors provide informative cases accompanied by analysis that integrates clinical findings with textual discussion, along with chapter-end "key points," in order to help practitioners

? understand demographic, gender, and cultural variables in suicide risk? use psychological tests and scales in assessment? assess risk in special populations, such as children and adolescents and the elderly, and jail and prison inmates? determine treatment options: psychopharmacological/ECT, psychodynamic, and collaborative (or "split") treatment ? manage suicide risk in the context of major mental disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, personality disorders, and substance-related disorders), with specific guidelines for risk assessment? address suicide risk in outpatient, emergency, and inpatient and partial hospitalization settings, patient safety versus freedom of movement, and strategies for increasing the safety factor in various aspects of practice

In addition to addressing the many facets of patient careincluding cautioning against a suicide risk factor created by limitations of benefits in managed-care situationsthe book also discusses clinician care: how practitioners can cope with the anxiety and fatigue arising from treating suicidal patients, the professional's role following a patient's suicide, legal issues involving standard of care and liability, and risk management guidelines for avoiding malpractice litigation. Suicide risk exists along an ever-changing continuum. This book underscores that risk assessment is a process, not an event. It clearly shows how sound assessment can lead to more effective management of patients at high risk for suicide.