Suicide Assessment and Intervention Training for Mental Health Professionals

Developed by Riverside Trauma Center, Suicide Assessment and Intervention is a one-day (6 CEU hours) training for clinicians and other mental health professionals on suicide risk assessment, formulation, and crisis response. It covers warning signs, risk and protective factors, risk assessment, and formulation approaches as well as safety planning. Also discussed are liability, the impact of this work on clinicians, and skills for managing the clinician’s personal reactions. A section on the value of postvention and grief support services is included. The information is presented through lectures with PowerPoint slides, discussion, role plays, behavioral modeling, videos, and case studies.  

Program Objectives

After taking the training, participants will have: 1. Increased knowledge about suicide, including risk factors, risk formulation, crisis planning , and suicide postvention; 2. Increased understanding of ambivalence in suicidal thinking and the idea of suicide as a coping strategy; 3. Increased knowledge of tools and interviewing strategies for assessing risk of clients with suicidal ideation and behaviors; 4. Increased confidence in their ability to assess or conduct crisis intervention with clients with suicidal ideation or behaviors; and 5. Increased confidence in managing their own reactions when working with at-risk clients.

Implementation Essentials

• Training by a Riverside Trauma Center trainer.

2012 NSSP Objectives Addressed: 

Objective 7.2: Provide training to mental health and substance abuse providers on the recognition, assessment, and management of at-risk behavior, and the delivery of effective clinical care for people with suicide risk.

Objective 9.1: Adopt, disseminate, and implement guidelines for the assessment of suicide risk among persons receiving care in all settings.