April Foreman, PhD presented at the Louisiana Psychological Association’s Spring conference on suicide risk assessment (see her excellent presentation).
Dr. Foreman noted that there are no established “best practices” for professionals assessing suicide risk, but recommended providers use structured assessments such as
- the Columbia- Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
- David Jones’ Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
- the IS PATH WARM model from the American Association of Suicidology
She also gave a detailed explanation of how to create safety plans for adults and adolescents, including online resources such as
an app for iphone and android phones called Suicide Safety Plan
an app for iphone and android phones called Virtual Hope Box (there is also a clinician’s guide for the app)- contacts to include in safety plans such as
- Lifeline Crisis Chat
- The Trevor Project – 866-488-7386 or text “Trevor” to 1-202-304-1200
- Crisis Text Line – text to 741741
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 800 273 8255