Elements and Performance Criteria
- Identify and assess the person's current suicide risk
- Recognise and respond to signs, (such as statements, reactions, thoughts, feelings or behaviours) indicating that a person may be considering suicide
- Attend to any hunches, while listening as a helper, perhaps from indirect communications, that suggest the client may be considering suicide
- Ask directly about thoughts of suicide whenever there are grounds for concern
- If suicide thoughts are present:
- Seek sufficient understanding of why the person is considering suicide, and what links them to life, to inform and facilitate the intervention
- Assess current suicide risk guided by risk assessment considerations outlined in the Range Statement and by whether there is an imminent threat to the person's safety or the safety of others
- Follow steps outlined in elements 2, 3 and 4.
- If the person indicates s/he is not thinking of suicide and no suicidal intent, plans, or behaviour are evident:
- Work actively with the person to reduce the immediate risk of suicide and increase safety
- Build a collaborative empathic relationship with person at risk that acknowledges how thoughts of suicide and the pain behind them may affect their safety
- Listen to what lies behind any thoughts of suicide while affirming and strengthening links to safety and living implicit in the helping relationship
- Work with person at risk to develop and follow through on a safety plan that reduces immediate danger of self-harm, risk of suicidal behaviour and/or suicide and mobilises access to emergency medical help when needed
- Manage intervention in ways that address and reduce any risk of harm to caregivers and others potentially at risk in the situation and remain mindful of circumstances where the police may need to be involved to address safety
- Seek and act on advice from workplace supervisor to ensure action taken is lawful, complies with good suicide intervention practice and organisation policies consistent with that practice, ethical processes and duty of care obligations
- Address occupational health and safety (OHS) obligations in relation to managing self and others
- Refer to health professionals where appropriate
- Facilitate and strengthen the individual's links to further care
- Having worked with the person to take any steps needed to address immediate safety:
- Encourage and enable capacity of person at risk and/or in crisis to make informed choices about further help that deals with their suicidality and associated needs for ongoing care
- Acknowledge how the current helping relationship has provided foundations for further care
- Explore and seek to understand and address any barriers to seeking or accepting help
- Develop, with the individual, a plan and agreed first steps, to access and utilise informal supports and professional help
- Provide further intervention support to resource the individual beyond immediate crisis
- When or if it is assessed that there is no imminent risk that needs to be immediately addressed:
- Maintain open rapport with individual to encourage discussion of on-going concerns related to their situation generally and any suicide risk - focusing on what most needs attention now
- Affirm person's decision to seek and accept help to keep safe and address their concerns
- Review how and with whom they might seek help in future to keep safe and/or get support
- Support individual to develop coping strategies (both internal and external) which prepare them to safely manage any recurrence of suicidal thoughts
- Identify mental health concerns or personal circumstances (such as depression, trauma, substance misuse or significant losses) that need addressing and facilitate access to appropriate help
- Ensure supports and coping strategies developed are documented and communicated as necessary to other members of work team
- Comply with all laws, relevant ethical guidelines and policy requirements that affect duty of care