Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals provides a practical toolbox that mental health professionals can start using immediately with clients thinking of suicide.
Many books focus only on suicide risk assessment or on a single therapeutic framework. In contrast, Helping the Suicidal Person incorporates tips and techniques from an array of evidence-based therapies for suicidal individuals, such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). Other tips haven’t been tested but make good clinical sense, like to take into account the person’s religious beliefs and other cultural considerations.
Helping the Suicidal Person draws from research findings and the clinical literature, but it’s not overly academic in tone. It’s conversational and rich with case scenarios. In all, the book contains 15 sections with 89 short chapters, each organized around an essential tip or technique:
I. Understanding Suicide and You
Tip 1: Reflect on Your Biases about Suicide
Tip 2: Take Stock of Your Experiences with Suicide (or Lack Thereof)
Tip 3: Confront “Suicide Anxiety”
Tip 4: Be Alert to Negative Feelings Toward the Suicidal Person
Tip 5: Reject the Savior Role
Tip 6: Maintain Hope
II. Overcoming the Taboo
Tip 7: Face Your Fears
Tip 8: Directly Ask about Suicidal Thoughts
Tip 9: Turn to Techniques for Eliciting Sensitive Information
Tip 10: Embrace a Narrative Approach: “Suicidal Storytelling”
Tip 11: Ask about Suicidal Imagery, Too
Tip 12: Uncover Fears of Hospitalization and Other Obstacles to Disclosure
III. Joining with the Suicidal Person
Tip 13: Recognize that, for Some People, You are an Enemy
Tip 14: Avoid Coercion and Control Whenever Possible
Tip 15: Resist the Urge to Persuade or Offer Advice
Tip 16: Understand the Person’s Reasons for Dying
Tip 17: Validate the Wish to Die
Tip 18: Acknowledge that Suicide is an Option
IV. Assessing Danger
Tip 19: Gather Remaining Essentials about Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior
Tip 20: Learn About Prior Suicidal Crises: The CASE Approach
Tip 21: Cautiously Use Standardized Questionnaires
Tip 22: Privilege Warning Signs Over Risk Factors
Tip 23: Screen for Access to Firearms
Tip 24: Inquire about Internet Use
Tip 25: Probe for Homicidal Ideation
Tip 26: Collect Information from Family, Professionals, and Others
V. Assessing Protective & Cultural Factors
Tip 27: Examine Reasons for Living
Tip 28: Identify Other Protective Factors
Tip 29: Pay Attention to Culture
Tip 30: Investigate Religious and Spiritual Views of Suicide
VI. Putting It All Together: Estimating Risk
Tip 31: Solicit the Person’s Own Assessment of Suicide Risk
Tip 32: Estimate Acute Risk for Suicide
Tip 33: Estimate Chronic Risk for Suicide
Tip 34: Document Generously
VII. Attending to Immediate Safety
Tip 35: Know When and Why to Pursue Hospitalization
Tip 36: Know When and Why Not to Pursue Hospitalization
Tip 37: Do Not Use a No-Suicide Contract
Tip 38: Collaboratively Develop a Safety Plan
Tip 39: Encourage Delay
Tip 40: Problem-Solve around Access to Firearms
Tip 41: Discuss Access to Other Means for Suicide, Too
Tip 42: In Case of Terminal Illness, Proceed Differently (Perhaps)
Tip 43: Seek Consultation
VIII. Planning for Treatment
Tip 44: Make Suicidality the Focus
Tip 45: As Needed, Increase Frequency of Contact
Tip 46: Treat Chronic Suicidality Differently
Tip 47: Involve Loved Ones
Tip 48: Suggest a Physical Exam
Tip 49: Recommend an Evaluation for Medication
Tip 50: Continue to Monitor Suicidal Ideation
IX. Alleviating Psychological Pain
Tip 51: After Safety, Address Suffering
Tip 52: Look for Unmet Needs
Tip 53: Target Social Isolation
Tip 54: Use Grounding Exercises
X. Exploring Motivations and Misgivings
Tip 55: Assume Nothing: Does the Person Want to Give Up Suicide?
Tip 56: Tap Into Ambivalence
Tip 57: Compare Reasons for Living and Dying
Tip 58: Invite the Person to Look for the “Catch”
Tip 59: Search for Exceptions
XI. Inspiring Hope
Tip 60: Frame Suicide as a Problem-Solving Behavior
Tip 61: Help Brainstorm an “Options List”
Tip 62: Teach the Problem-Solving Method
Tip 63: Nourish Future Plans and Goals
Tip 64: Incorporate a Hope Kit
Tip 65: Highlight Strengths
XII. Drawing from Cognitive Behavior Strategies
Tip 66: Connect Suicidal Thoughts to Other Thinking
Tip 67: Educate about Cognitive Distortions
Tip 68: Help Challenge Negative Thoughts
Tip 69: Elicit Coping Statements
Tip 70: Rescript Suicidal Imagery
Tip 71: Discourage Thought Suppression
Tip 72: Foster Acceptance of Suicidal Thoughts
XIII. Improving Quality of Life
Tip 73: Enhance Coping Skills
Tip 74: Cultivate Mindfulness
Tip 75: “Broaden and Build” Positive Emotions
Tip 76: Pair Behavioral Activation with Values
XIV. Moving Forward After a Suicide Attempt
Tip 77: Differentiate Between Suicidal and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Tip 78: Determine the Person’s Reaction to Having Survived
Tip 79: Conduct a Chain Analysis
Tip 80: Evaluate Where the Safety Plan Fell Short
Tip 81: Take Advantage of the “Teachable Moment”
Tip 82: Attend to the Therapeutic Relationship
Tip 83: Address the Trauma of the Suicide Attempt
Tip 84: Explore Shame and Stigma
XV. Building Resilience
Tip 85: Warn about the Possibility of Relapse
Tip 86: Review Lessons Learned
Tip 87: Complete a Relapse Prevention Protocol
Tip 88: Propose a Letter to the Suicidal Self
Tip 89: Follow Up
Interested in Helping the Suicidal Person?
If Helping the Suicidal Person interests you, you can purchase it at Amazon, at the publisher’s site Routledge.com, or at other booksellers. Bonus: If you purchase it from Routledge.com, then you can get 20% off and free shipping if you use the discount code IRK71, before December 31, 2017.
You can also get more information about the book at helpingthesuicidalperson.com/about-the-book/.
May Helping the Suicidal Person help you and, by extension, the suicidal people who come to you for help.
© Copyright 2017 Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW, All Rights Reserved. Written for HelpingTheSuicidalPerson.com.