Citation

Lewis LM. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2007; 37(1): 50-57.

Affiliation

Indiana University School of Social Work, Shelbyville, Indiana 46176, USA. lislewis@iupui.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1521/suli.2007.37.1.50

PMID

17397279

Abstract

Few events in the practice of a mental health clinician can be as devastating as the suicide of a client. Although suicide is a rare occurrence, clinicians face assessment of clients' risk for harming themselves on a regular basis. One well-accepted and widely practiced intervention for suicidal ideation is the use of no-harm contracts (NHC), although opinions about NHCs range from enthusiasm to apathy. The existing research does not support the use of such contracts as a method for preventing suicide, nor for protecting clinicians from malpractice litigation in the event of a client suicide.

Language: en