Clinical use of Suicide Assessment Scales: Enhancing Reliability and Validity Through the Therapeutic Relationship (IN: Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention of Suicidal Behavior, edited by R I Yufit & D Lester)

In this chapter, the authors first provide a brief overview of 3 major reviews of suicide assessment scales published in the past 12 years focusing on reliability & validity based on group or aggregate data. Next, they present an argument supporting the importance of the relational context as a mechanism for enhancing the reliability & validity of data collected via suicide assessment scales in clinical work. Finally, an example is offered of a clinical assessment protocol that incorporates the relational context in the assessment process &, thereby, increases the potential to derive reliable & valid data from suicide assessment scales at the individual level. (71 refs.)