ABSTRACT
The author will draw from his own experience as a high school mental health clinician, emergency room evaluator, program director, and the child of a parent who committed suicide to offer an overview of how to identify and prevent suicidal behavior in clients. Regrettably, there is no crystal ball to gaze into to determine who may or may not commit suicide—at best, suicide risk assessment is a very inexact art and perhaps no more than an educated guess. For this reason, a prudent clinician constantly assesses for suicidal thinking and considers every client a potential victim of suicide, since suicide touches every socioeconomic class and segment of society. The author will review general principles for conducting a suicide risk assessment and propose potential questions to identify suicidal thinking.
