Suicide intervention skills: Graduate training and exposure to suicide among psychology trainees.

Abstract

Preparing psychology trainees to assess and to manage clients who are suicidal is a critical responsibility of graduate training programs. In this study, doctoral trainees in clinical psychology (N = 59) were surveyed on their exposure to training and supervision on suicide assessment, their exposure to bereavement by suicide, and their confidence in providing care to suicidal clients. The Suicide Intervention Response Inventory–Revised (SIRI-2) was utilized to assess participants’ suicide intervention skills. Results indicated that over 75% of trainees had received education on suicide during graduate school; however, few students reported receiving clinical supervision on this topic. Trainees with and without formal training scored similarly on the SIRI-2, though there was a trend toward more skillful responding among trainees with more clinical experience. Exposure to suicidal clients during clinical training was common, as was personal bereavement by suicide. Trainees who reported working with clients who endorsed suicidal ideation and/or a history of suicide attempts performed better on the SIRI-2 than students with no such experience. Although a higher proportion of graduate trainees endorsed education on suicide assessment and management than in past studies, these findings call into question the efficacy of current training curricula. Implications for training and supervision are discussed.

Evaluating the effectiveness of a single-day simulation-based program in psychiatry for medical students: a controlled study

“…This is the first study to report that self-confidence improvement is maintained 2 months after receiving the training. Among attitudes, self-confidence is that which has been the most explored relative to empathy or stigmatisation [ 62 ], and has been associated with better skills, for example, in assessing suicide risk [ 49 ]. It is important to notice that the improvement in knowledge and attitude occurred despite the simulated patients were played by teachers and not professional actors.…”

“…We also developed a scale to measure the learners’ confidence in their psychiatric clinical skills. Examining one’s own practices is a fundamental dimension to characterize skills and clinical performance ([ 49 , 73 ]. No tool was suitable for our study.…”

Effectiveness of a One-day Simulation-based Program in Psychiatry for Medical Students: A Controlled Study

“…This is the rst study to report that the improvement in self-con dence is maintained two months after receiving the training. Among attitudes, self-con dence is that which has been the most explored relative to empathy or stigmatization (15), and has been associated with better skills, for example in assessing suicide risk (32).…”

“…We also developed a scale to measure the learners' con dence in their psychiatric clinical skills. Examining one's own practices is a fundamental dimension to characterize skills and clinical performance (31) , (32). No tool was suitable for our study.…”

Diseño y evaluación de un adiestramiento para profesionales de ayuda sobre identificación y manejo de riesgo suicida en estudiantes universitarios

“…Estos resultados evidencian la necesidad de mayor adiestramiento para los-as profesionales de ayuda en relación a la evaluación y el manejo de riesgo suicida. Fuera de Puerto Rico también se ha señalado la necesidad de mayor educación y supervisión relacionada al suicidio tanto en los programas graduados como en la educación continua de los-as profesionales de ayuda (Bocquier et al, 2013;Reihl, Cash, Mackelprang, & Karle, 2014;Rudd, Cukrowicz, & Bryan, 2008;Schmitz et al, 2012;Wharff, Ross, & Lambert, 2014). Es importante que estos-/as profesionales tengan las destrezas y conocimientos necesarios para cernir y evaluar adecuadamente, así como manejar los distintos niveles de riesgo suicida de manera que se fomente el bienestar de los-as estudiantes y un ambiente más seguro en las instituciones de educación superior.…”