Suicide Prevention for OT, PT, and SLP

In the United States, approximately 49,000 people die by suicide each year. And, unfortunately, the rate of suicide has increased substantially since 2000, up about 30%.

Suicide remains among the 10 leading causes of death among persons aged 10-64 years and is the second leading cause of death among those aged 10-14 and 25-34.

While these trends are multifactorial, they are particularly distressing because evidence-based approaches to suicide prevention screening and intervention are better established than ever.

Yet confidence and training in these approaches remain too low — even among behavioral health workers. OTs, PTs, and SLPs are uniquely positioned to recognize warning signs through repeated, relationship-based care, but most receive little formal training in suicide prevention.

This course seeks to address that gap. We’ll cover the basics of:

• What to watch for

• Evidence based screening

• Evidence based intervention

• And, the role of the team

We’ll anchor our discussion in one of the most comprehensive evidence-based frameworks available: the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2024). And we’ll be joined by Christine Weible-Cruz, LCSW, to get practical on what these guidelines look like in frontline care.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 — call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. Veterans and service members can press 1 after dialing.

1. You will be able to identify evidence-based approaches to assessing suicide risk.

2. You will be able to recognize evidence-based brief interventions for suicide prevention.

• Intro

• Discussion

  1. Tell me the story of how you became interested in clinical social work, and about your current practice.

  2. Why do you think it is important for the whole healthcare team (including OTs, PTs, and SLPs) to boost our confidence in suicide prevention?

  3. I want to walk step by step through the parts of the CPG. The guidelines begin with a list of warning signs. What feelings might pop up as a healthcare provider if we see a warning sign?

  4. If we see a warning sign, it seems that we should next ask about suicide. What language can we use to ask this? And, can you speak to Iatrogenic risk (or the fear we might put the idea of suicide in someone’s head?)

  5. An additional step could then be a fuller assessment. There are specific tools that can be employed, but it feels like the goal is to ascertain: is there an immediate risk & can it safely be managed. What can this look like?

  6. If there is an immediate risk, one of the next steps in the conversation would be lethal means safety and do THEY FEEL they can remain safe until therapy or a MD visit is initiated. What can this look like?

  7. Can you tell me about shared decision making, and what can it look like to help the patient initiate a hospital stay if needed?

  8. Part of our goal as allied health professionals is to get the patient to an MD and ultimately someone like you. What evidence-based approaches might you initiate, and what do you want us to know about this pass off?

  9. Part of what makes all of this worrisome to me in a work-setting is actually documenting the process. Any tips for how we logistically capture this process if we are a part of it? How can we use something like SPI to guide our documentation?

• Live Q&A

• Closing

Here’s the guideline we’ll focus on: Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide (2024) – VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guidelines

Additional Supporting Research

• Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide: Synopsis of the 2024 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guidelines 

• Suicide prevention training for allied health professionals within healthcare environments: A scoping review

• Preventing Suicide: Time to Mobilize the Physical Therapist Workforce

• Clinical Pathway for Suicide Risk Screening in Adult Primary Care Settings: Special Recommendations

• Is the Outpatient Mental Health Workforce Ready to Save Lives? Suicide Prevention Training, Knowledge, Self-Efficacy and Clinical Practices Prior to the Implementation of a Statewide Suicide Prevention Initiative 

• Occupational Therapy and Veteran Suicide: A Call to Action

• Management of suicidality in stroke patients with and without aphasia-a national survey among healthcare professionals in Sweden

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Christine Weible-Cruz operates a private psychotherapy practice. She has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.