Suicide Assessment: Ethical Considerations
$45.00
A client who shares their desire to end their life can be one the most challenging things a clinician will have to engage with. Working with a suicidal client can be even more difficult due to the strong emotions that will be evoked within the therapist. In this training, we will explore the ethics surrounding the assessment and treatment of suicidality in clients.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- Determine risk factors for suicidality
- Identify protective factors for suicidality
- Describe ways to assess for suicidality
- Implement methods to manage suicidality
- Define legal and ethical considerations surrounding suicidal clients
Social workers completing this course receive 3 Ethics asynchronous continuing education credits.
For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 3 hours of Ethics continuing education training.
Course Instructor: Dreya Blume, LCSW
Recording Date: 7/06/2024
Recorded Live Webinar with downloadable presentation slides and/or handouts, evaluation, and a required quiz. The learner is required to pass with a 70% or higher to achieve the CE certificate of completion. The learner is able to reset the test until a satisfactory score is achieved. CE Training Workshops, LLC, provider #1770, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/2/2022 – 8/2/2025. CE Training Workshops, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7091. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CE Training Workshops, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. System Requirements: Firefox, Chrome, Brave, Safari, Edge on any modern operating system (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS). A desktop browser is recommended. We do not provide support resources for issues encountered using a mobile device. For more information about our policies and board approval statements, please visit our FAQS page.
Dreya Blume, MA, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker, with her MSW from Radford University and an MA in anthropology from the University of Hawaii. Dreya has twenty years of experience working in mental health, from case management to intensive in-home services to leading groups for addicts in recovery.
Suicide Assessment: Ethical Considerations (3 HR) Syllabus
I. Legal and Ethical Considerations in Suicide Assessment
- Distinguish between best practice and the inability to predict suicide
- Understand the legal concept of foreseeability and the standard of care
- Explore malpractice fears, risk overestimation, and risk underestimation
- Incorporate informed consent regarding suicide assessment and emergency protocols
- Strengthen the therapeutic relationship through transparency and autonomy
- Discuss the clinician’s legal responsibilities regarding documentation and liability
II. Risk Factors for Suicidality
- Identify individual factors such as previous attempts, depression, trauma, chronic pain, and substance use
- Explore behavioral indicators including withdrawal, changes in sleep, and preparation behaviors
- Assess mood states like anxiety, shame, agitation, and sudden relief
- Recognize relationship, community, and societal risk factors including isolation, lack of access to care, and stigma
- Use culturally informed lenses to evaluate risk across diverse populations
III. Protective Factors for Suicidality
- Highlight individual strengths including coping skills, reasons for living, and cultural identity
- Assess relational support systems and connectedness to family, friends, and community
- Include spiritual, religious, and moral beliefs that discourage suicide
- Emphasize community integration, meaningful activities, and engagement in care
IV. Suicide Risk Assessment Practices
- Frame assessment as collaborative, fluid, and culturally sensitive
- Use structured tools such as the ASQ, Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, and Suicide Cognitions Scale
- Engage in open-ended inquiry around ideation, intent, planning, means, and past behaviors
- Explore protective factors, ambivalence, and reasons for living
- Incorporate parts work and motivational interviewing to strengthen hope and connection
- Evaluate both risk and protective factors to determine overall risk level
V. Managing Suicidality in Clinical Settings
- Match intervention to risk level (low, moderate, high)
- Develop and implement safety plans in collaboration with the client
- Consult with supervisors, care team members, or crisis services as needed
- Involve clients in identifying supports and resources, including mental health crisis numbers
- Understand when hospitalization or emergency petitions are warranted
- Apply harm reduction strategies when appropriate
VI. Ethical Considerations and Clinician Self-Awareness
- Explore countertransference reactions to suicidal clients
- Acknowledge emotional responses such as fear, guilt, self-doubt, and grief
- Reflect on the ethical role of the therapist in supporting autonomy while preventing harm
- Practice self-care through supervision, peer support, personal therapy, and clear boundaries
- Redefine professional success based on integrity and presence rather than outcome
