Citation

Bongar B. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1993; 23(4): 299-306.

Affiliation

Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, Palo Alto, CA 94303.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8310464

Abstract

This paper presents an argument for a paradigm shift in the way that mental health professionals approach their work with psychiatric patients in the midst of a suicidal crisis and suggests that the time has come to discuss a standard of care based on integration of detected risk factors, effective education and training in suicidology, and most importantly, the routine use of consultation and teamwork. Also proposed is a workable model for the use of consultation that has a number of major components: quality education in suicidology, the training and availability of appropriate consultants, clinical teamwork, and the recognition by training programs and clinical institutions that it is necessary to routinely consider a consultative risk management approach for work with suicidal patients.