Contracts to Stay Alive and Get Well (IN: The Counselor and Suicidal Crisis: Diagnosis and Intervention)

This chapter discusses contracts not to commit suicide made between suicidal clients & their therapists. The authors discuss the basic elements in a contract, such as mutual agreement, reciprocal accountability, & an explicit statement of contract. They discuss contracts to stay alive & contracts against nonlethal physical harm, as well as broken contracts, & clients who refuse to contract to stay alive. (VM)