The Psychodynamic Formulation: an aid in Assessing Suicide Risk (IN: Assessment and Prediction of Suicide, edited by R W Maris et al)

This chapter discusses clinical assessment & examines personal & exterior factors, mental state phenomena, & the integration of information bearing on suicide risk. Through psychodynamic formulation, the patient’s potential reaction to present stress can be put into perspective from the vantage of his character, revealing strengths & vulnerabilities. This approach arms clinicians with an understanding of a patient’s disposition to react adaptively or maladaptively to emotional injury. (80 Refs.)