Assessing Risk for Completed Suicide in Patients With Major Depression: Psychologists’ Views of Critical Factors

The assessment of risk for suicide in patients with major depression is a difficult task for professional psychologists. Not only is prediction itself a nearly impossible feat, but the literature is full of risk factors to which one should attend. By combining clinical & empirical literature of major depression-specific risk factors with the reported behaviors of practicing psychologists, the authors present critical factors for assessing suicidal risk. (28 refs)