The Formulation of Suicide Risk (IN: Suicide Risk the Formulation of Clinical Judgment, ed. by J T Maltsberger)

Maltsberger provides an outline of the information required to reach a decision about suicide risk. Elements of the investigation should include past history, details of present illness, mental state examination, & medical history. He stresses the need to formulate a comprehensive case study that can be re-assessed when there are shifts in symptoms or the patient’s personal situation. He states that intuition should be avoided & that treatment should always be based on psychodynamic formulation.