This course will provide you with information about the numerous risk and protective factors of suicide. You will learn effective screening approaches you can use to identify elevated risk. You will also learn how to follow a positive screening with an in-depth clinical assessment, including several different models you can use to guide your assessment. The goal of this course is to provide alcohol and drug counseling, marriage and family therapy, counseling, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human services with skills to identify individuals at increased risk of suicide.

Behavioral health professionals are involved in multiple disciplines, all of which are responsible for the safety of the clients in their care. Although each discipline has its own set of ethics to guide practice, they are generally similar in terms of the importance of avoiding harm to the client. 

Client safety requires careful planning and consistent vigilance. Any behavioral health professional can jeopardize client safety by committing a medical or treatment error. While it is unrealistic to think that you can prevent all errors, there are steps you can take to reduce occurrences.