The Clinician’s Guide to Suicide Management: A Proactive, Compassionate Approach to Manage Risk, Navigate Crises, and Minimize Hospitalization

Respond to suicidality with clarity rather than panic.

Many clinicians automatically send their clients straight to the emergency room whenever they hear the word suicide because they’re afraid: afraid of doing the wrong thing, afraid of being held liable, afraid of losing their license, or--worst of all--afraid of losing their client. But there is a better way.

A Clinician’s Guide to Suicide Management moves beyond the traditional crisis response model to focus instead on risk management, therapeutic interventions, and alternatives to hospitalization. Filled with compelling client stories, ethical decision-making trees, and the latest evidence-based research, it answers questions such as:

• What moves people from thinking about suicide to acting on their thoughts?
• How can we engage people at different points along this continuum?
• How can risk and protective factors best inform our interventions?
• Which screening and assessment tools are most helpful?
• How can we provide the best possible care and manage liability?
• What are best practices for working with special populations (e.g., veterans, youth, older adults)?

As helping professionals, our job is to keep clients safe and serve as purveyors of hope. This book can help you do both.

Paul Brasler, LCSW, CAIMHP, has spent his career working with clients living with substance use disorders across various settings, including community mental health, private practice, hospital emergency departments, adolescent residential treatment, and juvenile drug court. He is the author of The Clinician’s Guide to Substance Use Disorders and High-Risk Clients. He is currently the head of behavioral health at a nonprofit health center and has trained thousands of clinicians and professionals across the country in successful crisis management.