The findings of an international workshop on improving clincial interactions between mental health workers & suicidal patients are reported. Experts identified common contemporary problems when interviewing suicide attempters. Videotaped interviews were critically discussed in relation to expert experience & the existing literature in this area. The group concluded that clinicians should strive for a shared understanding of the patient’s suicidality; & that interviewers should be more aware of the patient’s inner experience of mental pain & loss of self-respect. Collaborative & narrative approaches to the suicidal patient are argued to be more promising in treatment. The case of a 24-year-old female patient who had attempted suicide is used as illustration. (26 refs.)