Most counselors will encounter a client expressing suicidal ideations at some point in their career. A counselor’s ability to recognize and address suicidality can be a life-saving skill. When the risk of suicide is identified, counselors should work to develop a therapeutic relationship with the client and their family as appropriate and work to develop safety plans in collaboration with the client. The safety plan indicates the actions that clients can take to respond and monitor their suicidal urges by outlining their coping and problem-solving skills and abilities.

Watch “Suicide Risk Intake Assessment,” which portrays the initial crisis intervention where the counselor conducts a suicide risk assessment of a client.

Use the relevant information given in the video to complete a suicide risk assessment for the example client using Part 1 of the Patient Safety Plan form. In this form, be sure to document the rationale for the risk level, ways to reduce the current risk, and if relevant, a proposed plan for follow-up.

Develop an ongoing safety plan for this client to follow once the initial intervention is complete. 

Use Part 2 of the form to document the parts of your plan using clear language that the client can understand if in crisis. This safety plan should be written in a way that the client can refer to it and utilize it.