Suicide Assessment and Prevention

SW732, Section 001

Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Suicide risk assessment, risk formulation, and treatment are consistently difficult in practice and greater attention to this public health issue and prevention efforts are needed, especially so, by social workers who provide the majority of mental health services in the U.S. This mini course is designed for MSW students who are focused on interpersonal practice and will cover the following topics: the critical issue of suicide (prevalence), suicide-risk assessment (risk and protective factors, warning signs, all components of the Columbia scale), risk formulation (determining next steps after assessment), and prevention approaches (multi-level prevention at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels). Students will have the opportunity to apply knowledge and practice skills with use of case studies, roleplays, and simulations.