Social Work Education in Suicide Intervention and Prevention: an Unmet Need?

Research shows social work graduate programs offer little education in suicide prevention & intervention yet social workers’ experiences & attitudes regarding suicide education are unknown. This Web-based survey of 598 American social workers found almost all respondents had worked with at least one suicidal client but most received little, if any, training in suicide prevention or intervention while in graduate school. Respondents largely viewed their social work program’s training in this area as inadequate. Implications for social work education & practice are discussed. (48 refs.)