ABSTRACT
Helping the Suicidal Person provides a highly practical toolbox for mental health professionals. The book first covers the need for professionals to examine their own personal experiences and fears around suicide, moves into essential areas of risk assessment, safety planning, and treatment planning, and then provides a rich assortment of tips for reducing the person’s suicidal danger and rebuilding the wish to live. The techniques described in the book can be interspersed into any type of therapy, no matter what the professional’s theoretical orientation is and no matter whether it’s the client’s first, tenth, or one-hundredth session. Clinicians don’t need to read this book in any particular order, or even read all of it. Open the book to any page, and find a useful tip or technique that can be applied immediately.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
section Tip 1|3 pages
Reflect on Your Biases about Suicide
section Tip 2|4 pages
Take Stock of Your Experiences with Suicide (or Lack Thereof)
section Tip 3|3 pages
Confront “Suicide Anxiety”
section Tip 4|3 pages
Be Alert to Negative Feelings Toward the Suicidal Person
section Tip 5|2 pages
Reject the Savior Role
section Tip 6|3 pages
Maintain Hope
section Tip 7|3 pages
Face Your Fears
section Tip 8|3 pages
Directly Ask about Suicidal Thoughts
section Tip 9|4 pages
Turn to Techniques for Eliciting Sensitive Information
section Tip 10|3 pages
Embrace a Narrative Approach: “Suicidal Storytelling”
section Tip 11|2 pages
Ask about Suicidal Imagery, Too
section Tip 12|3 pages
Uncover Fears of Hospitalization and Other Obstacles to Disclosure
section Tip 13|2 pages
Recognize that, for Some People, You are an Enemy
section Tip 14|3 pages
Avoid Coercion and Control Whenever Possible
section Tip 15|2 pages
Resist the Urge to Persuade or Offer Advice
section Tip 16|2 pages
Understand the Person’s Reasons for Dying
section Tip 17|2 pages
Validate the Wish to Die
section Tip 18|2 pages
Acknowledge that Suicide is an Option
section Tip 19|6 pages
Gather Remaining Essentials about Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior
section Tip 20|2 pages
Learn About Prior Suicidal Crises: The CASE Approach
section Tip 21|3 pages
Cautiously Use Standardized Questionnaires
section Tip 22|3 pages
Privilege Warning Signs Over Risk Factors
section Tip 23|2 pages
Screen for Access to Firearms
section Tip 24|2 pages
Inquire about Internet Use
section Tip 25|2 pages
Probe for Homicidal Ideation
section Tip 26|3 pages
Collect Information from Family, Professionals, and Others
section Tip 27|2 pages
Examine Reasons for Living
section Tip 28|2 pages
Identify Other Protective Factors
section Tip 29|4 pages
Pay Attention to Culture
section Tip 30|3 pages
Investigate Religious and Spiritual Views of Suicide
section Tip 31|1 pages
Solicit the Person’s Own Assessment of Suicide Risk
section Tip 32|4 pages
Estimate Acute Risk for Suicide
section Tip 33|3 pages
Estimate Chronic Risk for Suicide
section Tip 34|6 pages
Document Generously
section Tip 35|3 pages
Know When and Why to Pursue Hospitalization
section Tip 36|3 pages
Know When and Why Not to Pursue Hospitalization
section Tip 37|3 pages
Do Not Use a No-Suicide Contract
section Tip 38|5 pages
Collaboratively Develop a Safety Plan
section Tip 39|2 pages
Encourage Delay
section Tip 40|4 pages
Problem-Solve Around Access to Firearms
section Tip 41|2 pages
Discuss Access to Other Means for Suicide, Too
section Tip 42|3 pages
In Case of Terminal Illness, Proceed Differently (Perhaps)
section Tip 43|3 pages
Seek Consultation
section Tip 44|2 pages
Make Suicidality the Focus
section Tip 45|3 pages
As Needed, Increase Frequency of Contact
section Tip 46|3 pages
Treat Chronic Suicidality Differently
section Tip 47|2 pages
Involve Loved Ones
section Tip 48|2 pages
Suggest a Physical Exam
section Tip 49|2 pages
Recommend an Evaluation for Medication
section Tip 50|3 pages
Continue to Monitor Suicidal Ideation
section Tip 51|3 pages
After Safety, Address Suffering
section Tip 52|3 pages
Look for Unmet Needs
section Tip 53|3 pages
Target Social Isolation
section Tip 54|3 pages
Use Grounding Exercises
section Tip 55|2 pages
Assume Nothing: Does the Person Want to Give Up Suicide?
section Tip 56|2 pages
Tap into Ambivalence
section Tip 57|2 pages
Compare Reasons for Living and Dying
section Tip 58|2 pages
Invite the Person to Look for the “Catch”
section Tip 59|2 pages
Search for Exceptions
section Tip 60|1 pages
Frame Suicide as a Problem-Solving Behavior
section Tip 61|3 pages
Help Brainstorm an “Options List”
section Tip 62|2 pages
Teach the Problem-Solving Method
section Tip 63|3 pages
Nourish Future Plans and Goals
section Tip 64|3 pages
Incorporate a Hope Kit
section Tip 65|2 pages
Highlight Strengths
section Tip 66|3 pages
Connect Suicidal Thoughts to Other Thinking
section Tip 67|4 pages
Educate about Cognitive Distortions
section Tip 68|5 pages
Help Challenge Negative Thoughts
section Tip 69|2 pages
Elicit Coping Statements
section Tip 70|3 pages
Rescript Suicidal Imagery
section Tip 71|2 pages
Discourage Thought Suppression
section Tip 72|3 pages
Foster Acceptance of Suicidal Thoughts
section Tip 73|3 pages
Enhance Coping Skills
section Tip 74|4 pages
Cultivate Mindfulness
section Tip 75|4 pages
“Broaden and Build” Positive Emotions
section Tip 76|4 pages
Pair Behavioral Activation with Values
section Tip 77|2 pages
Differentiate Between Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
section Tip 78|2 pages
Determine the Person’s Reaction to Having Survived
section Tip 79|3 pages
Conduct a Chain Analysis
section Tip 80|2 pages
Evaluate Where the Safety Plan Fell Short
section Tip 81|2 pages
Take Advantage of the “Teachable Moment”
section Tip 82|3 pages
Attend to the Therapeutic Relationship
section Tip 83|2 pages
Address the Trauma of the Suicide Attempt
section Tip 84|2 pages
Explore Shame and Stigma
section Tip 85|1 pages
Warn about the Possibility of Relapse
section Tip 86|2 pages
Review Lessons Learned
section Tip 87|3 pages
Complete a Relapse Prevention Protocol
section Tip 88|2 pages
Propose a Letter to the Suicidal Self
section Tip 89|3 pages
Follow Up
