Is it time to abandon suicide risk assessment?
Suicide risk assessment includes estimating the likelihood of suicide in words such as ‘low, medium or high’. A ‘high suicide risk’ rating can trigger a powerful urge to eliminate risk immediately. But it is far from clear what...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2016-01-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472400001228/type/journal_article |
| Summary: | Suicide risk assessment includes estimating the likelihood of suicide in
words such as ‘low, medium or high’. A ‘high suicide risk’ rating can
trigger a powerful urge to eliminate risk immediately. But it is far from
clear what ‘high suicide risk’ actually means. In the current state of
knowledge, suicide reduction measures should apply to all psychiatric
patients, irrespective of an individual patient's perceived risk. For
patients presenting with suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviour,
assessment and management should focus on reducing or tolerating emotional
pain. |
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| ISSN: | 2056-4724 |