“One Size Fits all”: an Existential-Constructivist Perspective on the Crisis Intervention Approach With Suicidal Individuals

The empirical data on the relationship between suicide & suicide attempts are interpreted as suggesting that the contemporary assessment & intervention approaches to suicidal individuals are, by & large, ineffective. The authors focus on the crisis intervention model as one example & suggest that the crisis intervention approach to responding to suicidal patients is at best, ineffective &, at worst, can be viewed as exacerbating suicidal risk through its distancing, marginalizing, & stigmatizing effects. An alternative approach is then presented. (41 refs)