Citation

McGlothlin J, Page B, Jager K. J. Ment. Health Couns. 2016; 38(4): 298-307.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Mental Health Counselors Association)

DOI

10.17744/mehc.38.4.02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The SIMPLE STEPS (McGlothlin, 2008) model of suicide assessment provides clinicians with a comprehensive mnemonic framework for assessing suicide lethality. It provides a broader context to assess suicide compared to other mnemonic devices with similar intent (i.e., PLAID, PIMP, IS PATH WARM, etc.) In this article, six years of data (N = 13,423 records of individual callers to a suicide prevention hotline) were analyzed. Via regression analysis, the researchers examined the relationship of the SIMPLE STEPS variables to caller's suicide lethality. It was found that all variables of the SIMPLE STEPS model predicted suicide lethality. Furthermore, this article depicts one of the few evidence-based studies for using a mnemonic device in practice. The results of this study have implications for the general practice of assessing suicidal clients with mnemonic devices and the general treatment of suicidal clients.

Language: en