Suicide Intervention Plan For Suicide

Suicide does not generally come without warning. Almost always, persons considering it show symptoms or provide clues to their intent. It is important, however, for crisis workers to know how to read these and be able to distinguish between myth and reality. (Kanel, 2003, p. 76)

Social Workers often encounter clients at risk for suicide. They have a great oppurtunity in helping the client if they are able to identify the signs. Some of their roles are: assesing the client, figuring out how to take action, and encouraging the client to talk to someone about how they are feeling (Crowe, 2018). Some of the tips that Crowe listed in the article are; pay attention to the words of the client, and listen for words that seem unsafe, uncertain, or even unstable. It is important that social workers are able to complete an extensive risk assesment on the client, and then come up with an action plan. This action plan can include; identifying triggers, coping skills, removing lethal means, provide contact information to the client about support groups, or give them the suicide hotline (Our lady, 2017). It is important to remember that a lot of people do get help from mental health professionals, but the signs are often missed (Osteen & Jacobsen, 2014).

Suicide is a severe community health matter which can have lifelong negative consequences on individuals, families, and the society. Reduce suicidal risk factors and increase protective measures are the main objective of suicide prevention. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined suicide as the “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior; suicide attempt is “A non-fatal, self-directed, potentially injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior; might not result in injury’; and suicidal ideation is “thinking about, considering, or planning suicide” (2015).

In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide, 13.6% made a suicide plan, 8.0% attempted suicide, and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way mental illness is handled in today’s society. Also, approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009).

After taking a suicide assessment, such as the SLAP, and it has been determined that the client requires hospitalization to facilitate their safety the next steps will solely depend if the client is receptive to it or not. If the client is willing to accept help or completely against it will determine how the conversation will go to implement a safety plan. It is best to error on the side of caution and go with your gut instinct.

Psychiatric and general hospitals are required to, “Conduct a risk assessment that identifies specific characteriscts of the individual served and environmental features that may increase or decrease the risk for suicide” (Joint Commission, 2010). Many psychiatric hospitals have extended their services in the last few decades to drug and alcohol rehabilitation and these admissions and their environments will now require a complete suicide risk assessment, if it has not been done so before.

As a social worker, I know that my clients are coming to me in a time in their lives where they need help, and some these clients are affected by suicide. Therefore, I must be aware of the current programs and service being utilized in the field of practice to prevent suicide. In this section, I will be identifying current services and programs aimed at preventing suicide among military service members and veterans. Additionally, I will address the effectiveness of these programs and services, what research has been conducted to evaluate these services, and what still needs to be explored. My primary focus in my review of these programs and services will be the role of social worker, and how the social worker

As Amanda had constant thoughts of suicide, risk assessment for suicide in her case must be carried out. Risk assessment for suicide includes following dimensions:

Interventions. To determine Sara’s level of risk for suicide I will administer the following: Reasons for Living Inventory – Older Adult version (RFL-OA), Suicide Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) and Beck Depression Inventory (Jacobs, Baldessarini, Conwell, Fawcett, Horton, Meltzer, Pfeffer, and Simon, 2003). The RFL – OA is a self-report that will measure a person’s beliefs than could contribute to inhibition of suicidal behavior and there are six factors which include survival and coping beliefs, responsibility to family, child-related concerns, fear of suicide fear of social disapproval, and moral objections to suicide (Linehan, Goodstein, Nielsen, & Chiles, 1983).

Suicide has always been looked down upon and people would do just about everything in their willpower to prevent it. There are plenty methods to avert people from committing suicide such as the suicide health prevention hotline, support groups, friends, and family. However, all these methods are not as resourceful when the person is already dying. And, if the one who wants to commit suicide is lying in their death bed enduring an excruciating pain, then do the people who oppose suicide have the right to intervene with the dying person’s last wishes? Physician-assisted suicide is a practice where doctors decide to help end their hopelessly ill patient’s life painlessly even if he or she requests for it (Assisted Suicide). If doctors do follow the patient’s desired death, then are the doctors sending subliminal message saying these patients’ lives are now meaningless. Many believe the doctors treating the patients do not have the right to take lives instead save them, which leads to the religious factor in this situation. They believe the only way someone can be taken from this world is through the hands of God and any other way is simply wrong and immoral. Death is a delicate topic many try to ignore for however long they are able to. Humans have a very difficult time coping with the death of a loved one, so it is much harder for the friends and family to accept than the terminally ill. Although physician-assisted suicide permanently relieves the pain of a dying patient, PAS

This week clinical I felt better prepared than I did with my first week. I was able to focus a lot more on interpersonal skills and develop therapeutic relationship with my patients. In terms of Mental Status Examination (MSE), this assessment provided me with a helpful base of information from which to observe changes, progress, and monitor risks. Especially, suicide risk assessment is a gateway to patient treatment and management. The purpose of suicide risk assessment is to identify treatable and modifiable risks and protective factors that inform the patient’s treatment and safety management requirements. I got insight into how important it is to document suicide risk assessments with sufficient information. Documentation of suicide risk assessments facilitates continuity of care and promotes communication between staff members across changing shifts. It is easy for suicidal patients to “fall through the cracks” of a busy psychiatric unit that has rapid patient turnover of admissions and discharges, and mostly during shift change. Asking question such as “What is your view of the future?” or “Do you think things will get better or worse?” helped me to elicit important information regarding patients suicidal ideation. Additionally, how my patients expressed their hope about the future assisted me to identify, prioritize, and integrate risk and protective factors into an overall assessment of the patient’s suicide risk and include in MSE.

Our Suicide Awareness course will be very informative and useful in our everyday lives . Suicide is a major public health concern. It is the 10th leading cause of death overall. Suicide does not discriminate. People of all genders, ages, and ethnicities can be at risk. Suicidal behavior is complex and there is no single cause. In fact, many different factors contribute to someone making a suicide attempt. Suicide is complicated and tragic but it is often preventable. Knowing the warning signs for suicide and how to get help can help save lives.

The National Suicide Prevention Strategy (NSPS) promotes prevention and early intervention on suicide. It originated in 1995, and then expanded in 1999 when more evidence for the risk of suicidal behaviours emerged. The main objectives of NSPS are to target suicide prevention activities, create standards and raise the quality of suicide prevention, build and educate on self-help, improve the community, and improve the understanding of suicide prevention. The components of the strategy are listed in four inter-related components:

Suicide is a major public health concern and depression is one of the main risk factor. Gordon stated that “Over 40,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States; it is the 10th leading cause of death overall.” Knowing the warning signs can help you save a life. Some of the warning signs for suicide are talking about wanting to die, withdrawing from family and friends, using alcohol or drugs more often, and no hope for the future. There are more warning signs that you can look for but these are the most obvious. Gordon stated that “Suicidal thoughts or actions are a sign of extreme distress, not a harmless bid for attention, and should not be ignored.” Some people do not take the signs serious and it is the worst thing you can do

There is an ethical duty to report a client of any age when there are reports of suicidal attempts or ideation. Confidentiality is a consideration, but the safety of Angela is the first priority. There is a legal and ethical duty to report if there is a foreseeable harm (Remley, T. P., & Herlihy, B., 2010). A counselor must be knowledgeable of the proper assessments and tools, and should consult other