Risk Assessment

BRIEF SUMMARY

Risk assessment typically refers to the attempt to predict an individual’s general capacity and likelihood to attempt suicide or tendency to react to situations violently.

KEY POINTS

• Risk assessment requires directness, intentional questioning, and careful listening. The essential skills and conditions of counseling (empathy, reflections, restatements, attending, active listening, etc.) are important in suicide assessments and intervention.
• School personnel have a legal and ethical responsibility to recognize and respond to suicidal thinking and behavior. Schools must have clear policies and procedures for what to do, as well as trained school-employed mental health professionals and crisis response teams.

SHARED WISDOM

• Risk Assessment info from Counselortalk (Sept. 2017)
• Risk assessments and no-harm contracts are controversial practices in suicide prevention in school settings. The Centre for Suicide Prevention warns against no-harm contracts as over simplistic, giving school counselors a false sense of security.

RESOURCES

• School-based Suicide Risk Assessment, Prevention and Postvention
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• Translated School Safety and Crisis Resources (Spanish)
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