Dustin K MacDonald

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Economic and Community Development
  • Nonprofit Management
    • Counselling and Service Delivery
    • Suicide Prevention / Crisis Intervention
  • Politics and Governance
  • Math and Statistics
  • Salesforce
Menu

Documenting a Suicide Risk Assessment

Posted on January 24, 2015May 28, 2016 by Dustin

It is very important that when performing a suicide risk assessment in a clinical or professional context (whether a therapist, crisis or mental health worker, teacher, etc.), that you adequately document exactly what happened and what you did in response.

A good suicide risk assessment form will assist you in documenting what the suicidal person was feeling and what you, as the helper, did to help. It is not – however – a replacement for good clinical judgement. If you’re ever unsure, consult with a supervisor, seek clinical supervision or refer the suicidal person to someone with experience and training in working with suicidal persons.

Your documentation should include:

  • What led to the person’s current suicidal thoughts
  • The frequency, duration and intensity of suicidal thoughts
  • Any preparation the suicidal person has made (putting affairs in order, stockpiling pills, etc.)
  • Any previous suicide attempts and the disposition in those situations
  • Protective factors that may reduce suicide risk
  • The suicidal person’s view of their own risk
  • Your view of the suicidal person’s risk
  • What steps were put in place given the unique combination of risk and protective factors experienced by this suicidal person

If you have more information to record than is possible to fit on the suicide risk assessment that you or your organization uses, then record information on additional pieces of paper (preferably on organizational letterhead), date and sign them, and keep them attached to the originals.

Suicide risk assessments and other documents may become legal documents should a suicidal person attempt or die by suicide. Sometimes families are looking for someone to blame and so the professional that worked with them is targeted. Remember the adage, “If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen”, and record all that you feel is necessary. If at a later date you remember information, record it, along with the date that you wrote it down. Be accurate in your recollection and recording and your chances of being caught in a lie are sharply reduced.

Additionally, if your notes are ever subpoenaed, do not edit them. A common tactic by attorneys it to request the documents from the individual after they’ve already been given them through other means (from the professional College or board you are licensed under), from the organization you work for or from the client’s family) and they are looking to see if you will change details to cover your tracks. If you do, a license revocation is almost a certainty.

Retaining legal counsel and malpractice insurance may be helpful even if you don’t anticipate any problems. Consult your local Law Society for more information.



Cite this article as: MacDonald, D.K., (2015), "Documenting a Suicide Risk Assessment," retrieved on December 9, 2023 from https://dustinkmacdonald.com/documenting-a-suicide-risk-assessment/.

2 thoughts on “Documenting a Suicide Risk Assessment”

  1. Pingback: Developing Core Competencies for Suicide Risk Assessment - Dustin K MacDonald
  2. Pingback: Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA) - Dustin K MacDonald

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Privacy Policy

See here for our privacy policy. This site uses affiliate links and Adsense ads to provide targeted advertising.

Tags

analytical technique assessment communication community development counselling crisis chat crisis intervention data science eastern university economic development education empathy evaluation forecasting fundraising governance information technology intelligence intelligence analysis keokuk county language learning legal management peer support personal development phd politics professional development protective factors psychosocial risk factors safety planning salesforce sigourney social media statistics suicide suicide assessment suicide risk assessment technology terrorism training university of the cumberlands violence risk assessment youth

Recommended Posts

  • Conducting Psychosocial Assessments
  • DCIB Model of Suicide Risk Assessment
  • ABC Model of Crisis Intervention
  • My Friend is Suicidal - What do I do?

Recent Posts

  • ITS833 Information Governance
  • Enhanced Care Management (ECM) with Salesforce
  • ITS835 Enterprise Risk Management
  • Glorifind Christian Search Engine
  • Sigourney Iowa Election Results, 2023

Archives

  • November 2023 (6)
  • October 2023 (1)
  • September 2023 (3)
  • August 2023 (1)
  • July 2023 (1)
  • May 2023 (1)
  • March 2023 (1)
  • February 2023 (2)
  • January 2023 (4)
  • December 2022 (2)
  • May 2022 (1)
  • April 2022 (2)
  • March 2022 (1)
  • February 2022 (1)
  • December 2021 (1)
  • October 2021 (1)
  • August 2021 (2)
  • May 2021 (3)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • November 2020 (4)
  • July 2020 (1)
  • June 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (1)
  • March 2020 (4)
  • February 2020 (7)
  • January 2020 (1)
  • November 2019 (1)
  • October 2019 (2)
  • September 2019 (4)
  • August 2019 (2)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • February 2019 (1)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (4)
  • November 2018 (3)
  • October 2018 (3)
  • September 2018 (19)
  • October 2017 (2)
  • September 2017 (2)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (39)
  • May 2017 (3)
  • April 2017 (4)
  • March 2017 (4)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • January 2017 (5)
  • December 2016 (4)
  • November 2016 (4)
  • October 2016 (5)
  • September 2016 (4)
  • August 2016 (5)
  • July 2016 (5)
  • June 2016 (5)
  • May 2016 (3)
  • April 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (4)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (2)
  • October 2015 (2)
  • September 2015 (2)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (2)
  • May 2015 (5)
  • April 2015 (3)
  • March 2015 (8)
  • February 2015 (12)
  • January 2015 (28)

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Recent Comments

  • Dustin on Starting a Crisis Line or Hotline
  • HAPPINESSHEALTHCOURAGE, LLC on Starting a Crisis Line or Hotline
  • ITS833 Information Governance - Dustin K MacDonald on University of the Cumberlands PhD in Information Technology
  • Elected Officials in Sigourney, Iowa - Dustin K MacDonald on Sigourney Iowa Election Results, 2023
  • ITS 835 Enterprise Risk Management - Dustin K MacDonald on University of the Cumberlands PhD in Information Technology

Tags

analytical technique assessment communication community development counselling crisis chat crisis intervention data science eastern university economic development education empathy evaluation forecasting fundraising governance information technology intelligence intelligence analysis keokuk county language learning legal management peer support personal development phd politics professional development protective factors psychosocial risk factors safety planning salesforce sigourney social media statistics suicide suicide assessment suicide risk assessment technology terrorism training university of the cumberlands violence risk assessment youth
© 2023 Dustin K MacDonald | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme