Health and behavioral health providers play a crucial role in preventing suicides. Studies have shown that a substantial proportion of people who have died by suicide had either been in treatment or had some recent contact with a mental health professional. Yet many providers report that they feel inadequately trained to assess, treat, and manage suicidal clients. AMSR meets providers’ need for research-informed, skills-based training by presenting five of the most common dilemmas faced by providers and the best practices for addressing them. We provide a framework to determine individuals’ risk and how to make relevant and meaningful treatment decisions. Teaching and skill-building methods include:
» Expert teaching
» Video demonstrations
» Group discussion
» Documentation practice
Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk (AMSR®) for Health and Behavioral Health Professionals Working in Outpatient Settings (AMSR-Outpatient) uses a research-informed risk formulation model and helps clinicians and providers feel confident navigating challenging conversations about suicide. AMSR offers key strategies for providing compassionate care to people at risk for suicide. The training is designed for clinicians with a master’s or doctoral degree in a behavioral or mental health field, including:
» Social workers
» Professional counselors
» Marriage and family therapists
» Psychologists
» Psychiatrists
» Psychiatric nurses
This 6.5 hour training will teach essential skills through video, live demonstrations, and group and written practice. By the conclusion of the training, participants are able to:
» Reconcile the potential conflict between their goal to prevent suicide and the patient’s desire to eliminate psychological pain via suicidal behavior.
» Manage their own emotional reactions with the aim of establishing a shared perspective and maintaining a non-adversarial stance.
» Use skilled questions to elicit each patient’s unique suicidal ideation, behavior, and plans in order to offer patients realistic hope for recovery.
» Develop a collaborative safety plan that is tailored to a patient’s needs and conveys the message that their safety is the highest priority.
» Discussion of Means Restriction.
» Gain knowledge in the following core competencies: maintaining an effective attitude and approach; collecting accurate assessment information; formulating risk; developing a treatment and services plan; and managing care.
» Identify changes to make in their practice, specific to the assessment and management of individuals at risk for suicide.