Psychologists’ practices, training, and experiences conducting suicide risk assessment in Canada: An explanatory sequential mixed methods study

The purpose of this study was to understand how, or if, psychologists in Canada have been incorporating this information into their practice, as well as more broadly understanding how they learn and experience the process of suicide risk assessment (SRA). To do this, I used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach, which integrates both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore and explain research findings. One-hundred and sixty psychologists completed a survey on their SRA practices, training, and experiences, and I conducted nine follow-up interviews asking them to elaborate and explain their survey answers. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics whereas the interview results were analyzed with a co-investigator using both Thematic Analysis (bottom-up) and Rapid Assessment Process (top-down). Together, we integrated both the quantitative and qualitative strands into conclusions that answered our main research questions: How do psychologists in Canada (a) practice, (b) learn, and (c) experience SRA, as well as (d) how do the interviews explain the survey results?