Clinician: "When people are depressed or overwhelmed, they may often feel like life isn't worth living. I will be asking you more questions about this…"
Assess the level of suicidal risk in your patient and consider using the following tools:
- C-SSRS Risk Assessment-Adult | PDF
- C-SSRS Screener | PDF
- Questions include:
- Item 4. Suicidal intent: Have you had thoughts of killing yourself? Have you had the intention of acting on these thoughts?"
- Item 5. Suicidal intent with Specific Plan: Have you started to work out the details, or made plans on how to kill yourself? Do you intend to carry out this plan?
- Item 6. Suicide Behaviour Question: Have you ever done anything to end your life?
- If the patient answers "yes" to items 4, 5 and 6 (within the last 3-months), then consider the suicide risk to be high.
Based on the C-SSRS Screener, or your clinical assessment, patients can be divided into
- Low risk
- May have thoughts of death, but no active intent
- No means
- Able to contract for safety, i.e. patient reports that they are agree to tell someone else if suicidal ideation worsens
- Medium risk
- Multiple risk factors, few protective factors
- Suicidal ideation with plan, but no intent or behaviour