Sample individual practitioner practices for responding to client suicide

The primary author of these sample practices, Jeffrey C. Sung, MD, is a clinical instructor at the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and co-instructor of Wellspring Counseling’s “Working with Suicidal Clients” workshop.  These guidelines were developed with the help of Sue Eastgard, MSW, Director of Training for Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention at the University of Washington and R. Keith Myers, LICSW, Vice President of Clinical and Training Services for Wellspring Counseling.  We received valuable feedback from Katherine A. Comtois, PhD; Sharon Farmer, MD; Nina Gutin, PhD, co-chair of the American Association of Suicidology’s Clinician Survivor Task Force; Glenette Olvera, LICSW; and Edward Rynearson, MD, medical director of the Violent Death Bereavement Society.
The suicide death of a client or patient is a dreaded potential outcome in mental health treatment. Such an event requires the clinician to respond in a manner that fulfils a number of roles and responsibilities while also attending to powerful emotions.  The desired outcome of this painful process is the completion of immediate responsibilities and the gradual resolution of emotional responses in a manner that promotes personal and professional growth and responsibility.  The guidelines and recommendations are intended to help identify immediate responsibilities and potential resources and sources of support following a client suicide.  Since every case is unique and presents its own issues, these are intended only as general guidelines, to be modified as appropriate for the individual situation.
Program Objective: organizations that use Sample Individual Practitioner Practices for Responding to Client Suicide will have increased knowledge of immediate responsibilities, potential resources, and sources of support in the aftermath of a client suicide.