Suicide Risk Management: A Manual for Health Professionals - Softcover

Chehil, Sonia; Kutcher, Stanley P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470978562 ISBN 13: 9780470978566

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012

Synopsis

Suicide Risk Management: A Manual for Health Professionals is a short, clearly written book that provides practical guidance on how to manage the suicidal or potentially suicidal patient. Written by two expert teachers, the book has been used in courses for trainee psychiatrists and for health professionals throughout the world. Feedback from participants on these courses has informed revision of the new edition. This book is of interest for all mental health professionals who come into contact with patients who present with suicide potential, i.e. all mental health professionals, as well as general health professionals who are often the first point of contact for a suicidal patient.

The book opens with a review of the epidemiology, risk factors and associated aspects of suicide. It then presents two assessment tools: The Tool for Assessment of Suicide Risk (TASR) provides instruction on how to use it appropriately in the clinic. The Suicide Risk Assessment Guide (SRAG) acts as a self-study program to asess clinical evaluation skills. Both tools were created for use in the authors’ own practice and are now successfully taught to and used by health professionals around the world. Refined through actual experience, these proven tools help assess and evaluate patients with confidence.

Case vignettes allow the reader to practice using the information they have learned from the book.

Throughout the book, bulleted lists, tables and flowcharts effectively describe how to use the many factors to assess the risk of suicide in an individual patient.

About this title

Book Description

Suicide is a significant public health problem worldwide. Estimating prevalence in different countries is problematic as in many countries suicide is hidden and therefore 'prevalence estimates' taken from country records will likely underestimate real suicide rates. In addition, different countries report marked differences in suicide rates and it is not clear as to why such differences occur. Nevertheless, based on available data, globally suicide is believed to account for an average of 10-15 deaths for every 100,000 persons each year and for each completed suicide there are up to 20 failed suicide attempts. Understanding suicide is unachievable. The underpinnings of suicide are diverse and multifaceted, involving a unique fusion of biological, psycho-social and cultural factors for each individual. Suicide is not an event that occurs in a vacuum. It is the ultimate consequence of a complicated process.This does not mean that health professionals should not know how to recognize, assess, and manage the suicidal patient. Indeed, this is a core competency that should be held by all health professionals, as many of their patients (including those without a psychiatric disorder) may face the prospect of suicide at some point in their lives. Many patients who experience suicidal thoughts or make suicide plans will change their minds about committing suicide. Many people who attempt suicide and are not successful go on to live productive lives. In some people a suicide attempt is an event that leads to a first contact with a helping professional. That individual may be suffering from a mental disorder, which will respond to appropriate and effective treatment. That individual may have a chronic physical illness or be overwhelmed by life stressors and so may consider suicide as a viable solution to his/her dilemma. By knowing about suicide risk factors and how to identify and assist suicidal individuals and by targeting interventions towards modifiable factors and providing needed supports the health professional can assist in the patient choosing life rather than death.The objectives of this book are fourfold;To provide information regarding the epidemiology, risk factors and associated aspects of suicide.To provide information which will assist in the identification and assessment of suicide risk.To introduce the TASR: Tool for Assessment of Suicide Risk and provide instruction on its appropriate clinical application.To provide a continued self study program pertaining to clinical evaluation of suicide using the Suicide Risk Assessment Review (SRAR)The book is presented in a highly structured was with maximum use of bulleted lists, tables and flowcharts to describe in the most effective way possible how the many factors are used to assess the risk of suicide in an individual patient. It has a plasticised summary card inserted into a wallet at the back of the book which provides an "at a glance" guide to the assessment process.Professor Stan Kutcher is one of the world's leading authorities on child and adolescent psychiatry and is the author of several successful books and 150 papers. He is head of psychiatry at Dalhousie University in Canada and is an examiner for the Royal College of Physicians.

About the Author

Sonia Chehil is Head of International Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and Associate Director of the WHO Collaborating Center in Mental Health, with joint faculty appointments in child and adolescent and international psychiatry.

Stan Kutcher is one of the world's leading authorities on child and adolescent psychiatry and is the author/editor of several successful books and over 150 scientific papers. He is Director of the WHO Collaborating Center in Mental Health Training and Policy and Associate Dean of International Medical Development and Research at Dalhousie University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0470978562
• ISBN 13: 9780470978566
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 176