ABSTRACT
Individual item analysis can shed light on symptoms in need of prompt intervention. Particular attention should be paid to responses to questions related to suicidal ideation (Item 2) and hopelessness (Item 9), which may indicate the need for a complete suicide assessment (Brantley, Mehan, & Thomas, 2000). In addition, endorsement of particular statements can give the clinician important information regarding the patient's negative thinking, which can be utilized as a starting point for cognitive therapy. For example, if a patient rates feelings of guilt very highly, initial stages of cognitive therapy might consist of having the patient identify situations in which he or she felt extremely guilty and the thoughts related to those situations (Beck et al., 1979).
