Elements and Performance Criteria
- Elements define the essential outcomes
- Identify and assess the person’s current suicide risk
- Recognise and respond to signs indicating that a person may be considering suicide
- Explore any indications, direct or indirect, that the person may be considering suicide
- Ask specifically about thoughts of suicide whenever there are grounds for concern
- Inform and facilitate the intervention by seeking understanding of why the person is considering suicide and what links them to life
- Collaborate to increase immediate safety
- Build a collaborative empathic helping relationship that acknowledges how thoughts of suicide and the pain behind them may affect their safety
- Listen to what lies behind any thoughts of suicide while affirming and strengthening life connections and safety support
- Work with the person to develop and implement a safety plan that reduces immediate danger to the person and others
- Mobilise access to emergency services when needed
- Comply with all laws, relevant ethical guidelines and policy requirements that affect duty of care and seek any advice from workplace supervisor
- Facilitate links to further support
- Empower the person at risk to make informed choices about further help
- Maintain rapport to encourage discussion of on-going concerns
- Help the person identify coping strategies to manage recurrence of suicidal thoughts
- Determine whether underlying mental health concerns or personal circumstances are present and facilitate access to appropriate help
- Explore possible barriers to seeking or accepting help and develop responses
- Explore what has helped the person survive any previous suicide attempts
- Develop a plan with the individual that includes agreed first steps to access and use informal supports and professional help
- Refer to appropriate professionals as required
- Review and report on support provided
- Document suicide safety plan and follow up action according to evidence informed standards of care and relevant organisation requirements
- Communicate relevant information to work colleagues and other people working with the person
- Reflect on own role in providing support and use learning to enhance future practice
- Identify and respond to the need for own supervision and debriefing
- Identify and assess the person’s current suicide risk
- Recognise and respond to signs indicating that a person may be considering suicide
- Explore any indications, direct or indirect, that the person may be considering suicide
- Ask specifically about thoughts of suicide whenever there are grounds for concern
- Inform and facilitate the intervention by seeking understanding of why the person is considering suicide and what links them to life