Problem:
Many people, even professionals with extensive experience, avoid raising the topic of suicide with their clients. For example, in a study of psychotherapists working with actors pretending to be clients, researchers found that the psychotherapists rarely uttered the word "suicide" or explicitly asked about suicidal thoughts, even though the actors intentionally portrayed clients at elevated risk for suicide (Reeves et al., 2004). The authors noted that both the therapist and client seemed "to collude in not specifically naming suicide as an active possibility" (p. 64). At a time when many suicidal individuals need help speaking what seems unspeakable, this collusion can have tragic consequences. One of the biggest obstacles to directly asking a person about suicidal thoughts is fear. Many fears, in fact. Over the years, in my work as a teacher and consultant, I have observed these common themes: fears of putting the idea in the person's head, fear of making suicidal ideation worse, fear of angering the person, and, finally, fear of the person saying yes when asked if they are thinking of suicide. Need Assignment Help?