Training Mental Health Professionals to Assess and Manage Suicidal Behavior: Can Provider Confidence and Practice Behaviors be Altered?

Abstract

Remarkably little systematic research has studied the effects of clinical suicidology training on changing practitioner attitudes and behaviors. In the current study we investigated whether training in an empirically-based assessment and treatment approach to suicidal patients administered through a continuing education workshop could meaningfully impact professional practices, clinic policy, clinician confidence, and beliefs posttraining and 6 months later. At the 6 month follow-up we found that 44% of practitioners reported increased confidence in assessing suicide risk, 54% reported increased confidence in managing suicidal patients, 83% reported changing suicide care practices, and 66% reported changing clinic policy. These results suggest that a brief and carefully developed workshop training experience can potentially change provider perceptions and behaviors with a possible impact on clinical care therein.

Advancing Training to Identify, Intervene, and Follow Up with Individuals at Risk for Suicide Through Research

“…6 Assessing skill-based outcomes is a challenging task, especially in the absence of observable client data. Assessment measures such as role-plays, 34 vignettes, 29 and videotaped interviews 35 are superior to self-report but lack sufficient evidence of validity and effectiveness.…”

Managing Risk: Clinical Decision-Making in Mental Health Services

“…Risk, described as "the likelihood of an adverse event happening" (Muir-Cochrane & Wand, 2005, p. 5), can include patient aggression (Daffern & Howells, 2009), suicide and self-harm (Thompson, Powis, & Carradice, 2008), absconding (Muir-Cochrane, Mosel, Gerace, Esterman, & Bowers, 2011), substance abuse (Thomson, 1999), and diverse concerns, such as medical comorbidity, exploitation, social exclusion, victimization, and poverty (Kelly & McKenna, 2004;Muir-Cochrane, 2006). The increasing importance placed on risk assessment and management is reflected in not just policy, but also the daily care of consumers by health care professionals worldwide (de Nesnera, & Folks, 2010;Department of Health, 2007;Langan, 2010;Oordt, Jobes, Fonseca, & Schmidt, 2009). …”

Training for Suicide Risk Assessment and Suicide Risk Formulation

“…The scientific literature is beginning to demonstrate that empirically based skills taught in a brief continuing education format can change clinic policy, confidence in risk assessment, and confidence in management of suicidal patients, with changes sustained at a 6-month follow-up [90,91]. Findings such as these, in conjunction with the known elements that facilitate the translation of continuing education training into clinical practice [88], suggest that suicidespecific continuing education can "meaningfully impact professional practices, clinic policy, clinician confidence, and beliefs" [91, p. 21].…”