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Examining the characteristics and clinical features of in‐ and between‐session suicide risk assessments among psychiatric outpatients
Author(s) -
Hom Melanie A.,
Stanley Ian H.,
Rogers Megan L.,
Sheffler Julia L.,
Nelson Katherine R.,
Joiner Thomas E.,
Schramm Elisabeth
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22555
Subject(s) - psychology , session (web analytics) , suicide prevention , suicide risk , risk assessment , poison control , suicide attempt , clinical psychology , psychiatry , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , medicine , medical emergency , computer security , world wide web , computer science
Objective To evaluate the characteristics of suicide risk assessments completed using the Decision Tree framework both in and between psychotherapy sessions, clinical features of patients for whom between‐session assessments are indicated, and data collected across assessments. Method Data were collected from 1,358 suicide risk assessments conducted with psychiatric outpatients ( N = 41) at elevated suicide risk engaged in care at a psychology training clinic. Results Participants completed an average of 4.75 (standard deviation = 4.95) suicide risk assessments (2.81 ± 4.43 between‐session assessments) per each month in treatment. Assessment frequency and patient ratings of suicidal desire and intent were each significantly associated with therapist risk level categorizations. Conclusion The Decision Tree framework's in‐ and between‐session assessments have the potential to be implemented in a routinized format among psychiatric outpatients at elevated suicide risk. Additional research is needed to establish the feasibility and clinical utility of this framework across samples and providers.