Psychological Risk Factors for Serious Suicide Attempts (1 CE)

Number of Credits: 1

This course is for:  Clinical Psychologists, Counselors, Nurses, and MFTs

Course By: Tim Grigsby, PhD

Content By: Gvion, Y., & Levi-Belz, Y. (2018). Serious suicide attempts: Systematic review of psychological risk factors. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, e56.

Course Description: Serious suicide attempt (SSA) is a suicide attempt that would have been lethal were it not for rapid and effective emergency treatment. Identifying the determinants of SSAs is a promising strategy for overcoming one of the main obstacles in suicide research (i.e., identifying risk factors that differentiate engagement in suicidal behaviors from completed suicides). Dimensions of psychopathology, mental pain, communication difficulties, decision-making, impulsivity, and aggression were identified as major SSA risk factors. Further research is needed to refine the measurement and assessment of SSAs to adequately address SSAs as a component of larger prevention and intervention models for suicide behavior.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the differences between suicide attempt, serious suicide attempt (SSA), and medically serious suicide attempt
2. List the four dimensions of psychological factors identified as significant risk factors for SSA
3. Evaluate the research strengths and weaknesses relative to SSA risk factors

Course Outline:

• Read and understand Serious suicide attempts: Systematic review of psychological risk factors
• Review the Course Description and Learning Objectives
• Reflect on the value of identifying serious suicide attempts (SSAs) and the impact of different psychological risk factors on suicide attempts
• Work through the post-test questions; keep in mind that answer selections should be derived from the respective article
• Return to the referenced article for any missed questions and/or to better understand the value of identifying at-risk SSA individuals through psychological risk factor assessment

CA BRN REQUIRED IMPLICIT BIAS CONTENT

Implicit biases incorporate an association that occurs outside of conscious awareness that may resultantly lead to a negative patient evaluation derived from irrelevant characteristics (e.g., gender, race, etc.). A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Thirty-five studies identified the existence of implicit bias in healthcare professionals; all correlational studies evidenced a significant positive relationship between implicit bias levels and lower quality of care. Future research studies should examine the role of implicit bias in disparities in healthcare. Additional research across healthcare settings, combined with greater method homogeneity relative to methods that are implemented to test implicit biases in healthcare, is further suggested (FitzGerald & Hurst, 2017).

Approvals: