The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Substance Abuse CounselorsFew clinical challenges are as daunting or critical as the art of suicide assessment. Written by the author of the leading text on clinical interviewing and a nationally recognized expert on assessment interviews, The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment is a concise guidebook on how to assess suicidal risk no matter how complicated the clinical presentation. The text is filled with sample questions, effective strategies, case histories, and excerpts from actual suicide assessments. Dr. Shawn Christopher Shea helps the reader understand the complex inner worlds of both the client contemplating suicide and the clinician trying to prevent it, showing how these worlds invariably interact with and change one another. Dr. Shea highlights the elusive nature of suicidal ideation and demonstrates the current limitations of prediction. Through examination of the etiology and phenomenology of suicide, he explains how to recognize its many faces, enhancing the interviewer's ability to uncover danger that others might miss. This book focuses on the art of eliciting suicidal ideation, introducing a rapid, thorough, and sensitive interviewing strategy to determine lethal risk—the Chronological Assessment of Suicide Events (the CASE approach). Developed by Dr. Shea in the "clinical trenches" of a busy emergency room at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the CASE approach is a flexible interview strategy that leads the clinician into the details of the client's suicidal ideation and planning. An actual clinical transcript of the CASE approach is included, illustrating its nuances and techniques as they unfold. FROM THE FOREWORD "With the publication of this book there is now no better guide for learning about and clinically assessing the phenomenology of suicidal states. Penned with a compelling elegance and charm, The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment is brimming with clinical wisdom, enlightening case illustrations, and a vibrant sense of compassion. Writers of 'forewords' have a tendency to proclaim that the book in question is a 'must read' for every clinician. This time it is actually true." —David A. Jobes, PhD President, American Association of Suicidology. The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment provides mental health professionals with the tools they need to assess a client's suicide risk and assign appropriate levels of care. This book is the first to outline the Chronological Assessment of Suicide Events (CASE), a unique and innovative approach to suicide assessment. Developed by Dr. Shawn Christopher Shea, the CASE model is quick and efficient, qualities that make it particularly appropriate for time-pressed clinicians in the managed care environment. The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment offers clear, no-nonsense principles to help today's busy clinicians accurately assess their clients and, ultimately, help them save lives. In addition, Dr. Shea also explores critical issues such as contradictory data, client deceit, clinician burnout, the role of corroborative sources of information, and forensic liability. For clinicians who need to examine their clients' risk of self-harm, The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment is the single, definitive resource. |
Contents
Etiology | 17 |
Harbingers of Death | 69 |
Simple Tools for Uncovering | 125 |
Copyright | |
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Other editions - View all
The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment: A Guide for Mental Health ... Shawn C. Shea No preview available - 2011 |
The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment: A Guide for Mental Health ... Shawn Christopher Shea No preview available - 2002 |