Managing Suicidal Risk: A Collaborative Approach

About the Course:

This clinical manual offers essential tools and guidance for therapists of any orientation faced with the complex challenges of assessing and treating a suicidal patient. In a large, ready-to-photocopy format, the book provides step-by-step instructions and reproducible forms for evaluating suicidal risk, developing a suicide-specific outpatient treatment plan, and tracking clinical progress and outcomes using documentation that can help to reduce the risk of malpractice liability. In addition to providing a flexible structure for assessment and intervention, The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) approach is designed to strengthen the therapeutic alliance and increase patient motivation. Highly readable and user friendly, the volume builds on 15 years of empirically oriented clinical research.

This course is based on the book, Managing Suicidal Risk: A Collaborative Approach created by David A. Jobes, Ph.D. in 0.

Journal/Publisher:

Guilford

Publication Date:

Paperback © 2006

Course Material Author

Course Creator

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially psychologists, counselors, social workers, and nurses who seek knowledge about suicide risk assessment and prevention. It is appropriate for all levels of participants’ knowledge.

Course Objectives:

1. Describe the current state of suicide risk assessment.

2. Explain the philosophy of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), and explain how it differs from traditional methods of managing suicide risk.

3. Use the Suicide Status Form (SSF) to assess suicide risk, develop a suicide-specific treatment plan, clinically track and document ongoing suicide risk, and determine clinical outcomes once suicidality is resolved.

4. Describe a process for the early identification of suicide risk.

5. Discuss both conceptual aspects and concrete procedural steps pertaining to the CAMS approach to suicide risk assessment.

6. Describe the process for coauthoring, with the patient, a suicide-specific, time-limited treatment plan, using the CAMS approach.

7. Identify and clinically “track” a suicidal case over the course of clinical care, using the CAMS system.

8. Describe the range of suicide status tracking outcomes and how the CAMS approach can be brought to a sensible clinical close.

9. Describe steps clinicians can take to limit malpractice liablity.

10. Describe a variety of possible future developments related to CAMS both in terms of its application across various settings and in relation to empirical research.