Commonsense Recommendations for Standard Care of Suicidal Risk

Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, yet many mental health providers have limited academic-based training in its assessment and treatment. A commonsense approach to caring for suicide risk includes (a) identification, (b) assessment, (c) safety planning with lethal means discussion and offer of resources, and (e) the use of caring contact. In addition, it is optimal to explore the specifics of the patient’s suicidal...