Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals

by Stacey Freedenthal

Helping the Suicidal Person provides a highly practical toolbox for mental health professionals. The book first covers the need for professionals to examine their own personal experiences and fears around suicide, moves into essential areas of risk assessment, safety planning, and treatment planning, and then provides a rich assortment of tips for reducing the person's suicidal danger and rebuilding the wish to live. The techniques described in the book can be interspersed into any type of therapy, no matter what the professional's theoretical orientation is and no matter whether it's the client's 1st, 10th, or 100th session. Clinicians don't need to read this book in any particular order, or even read all of it. Open the book to any page, and find a useful tip or technique that can be applied immediately.

Genres: Psychology, Social Work, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Counselling

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2017

About the author

PhD LCSW

Reviews

[Charlotte Kersten]

This book was incredibly helpful and I know that I'll be returning to these techniques in the future. I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with working with suicidal individuals in a crisis intervention, medical or therapeutic capacity.

[Dana Choquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Freedenthal has created an easy-to-read book that is chalk full of tangible and effective tools for helping people who are contemplating suicide. I found the book to be incredibly empowering for both clinicians and clients. Her tips focus on the true needs of the client, rather than the fears or biases of the clinician. I recommend this book for budding clinicians and seasoned clinicians alike as it provides fresh perspectives on supporting suicidal people in a way that highlights client strengths and bravery.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already knew most of the interventions suggested in the book, which was great to realize how far along I am in my journey as a therapist. This book is best for therapists new to the field and a great refresher of sorts for the seasoned therapist looking for new or creative ideas to add to the clinical repertoire in suicidal assessment.

[Sarah Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy to read, extremely helpful and practical guide for clinicians working with clients at risk of suicide. I love the structure which includes tips, structure, and so many examples of how to use the tips in sessions!

[arireadsthings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really well-done. I recommend this to any professional looking for ways to help a suicidal person.

[Robert Bogue]

They want to help; they just don’t know what to do. It’s a tragic fact that most psychology and sociology programs don’t have a single class regarding suicide in their entire academic career. So therapists and social workers encounter a suicidal person and they feel – as they are – completely unprepared for what to do next. Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals is a way of addressing the gap in knowledge –and coming to a better place of nurturing and support to help people move away from suicide as the only option.

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[Kiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently started a job at a large university counseling center and was instantly faced with the realities of how limited my counseling master's degree education had been on how to ethically and empathetically support people with suicidal thoughts. The level of need is overwhelming in this field and I have found myself in many sleepless nights as a new counselor wondering if I responded appropriately to students' pleas for help. This book has given me clear, actionable steps on what to say, how to respond, questions to ask, resources to offer, and areas to continue to explore. It feels like a beacon of light for me as I manage the feelings of inadequacy and imposter syndrome. I am deeply grateful for the wisdom and thoughtful insights Dr. Freedenthal shared from her experience in the field. I know this book will remain a guide for me to return to as I continue to seek training and consultation from supervisors on working with people with suicide.

HIGHLY recommend to all providers in the field particularly those early in their careers.

[Sean Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this today in honor of suicide prevention month. I finished it in one sitting simply because it was that engaging and illuminating… and while this book was designed to be clinical and I can certainly see how it would be helpful for professionals working with suicidal clients, I hope that doesn’t turn away non-professionals from reading it. There are takeaways from this book that I believe would be helpful to everyone. I’d recommend this book for anyone looking to better understand suicide, suicidal ideation, and the complex, often complicated treatment of “the suicidal person.” There will be parts not relevant to everyone, such as the areas on session notes or on the finer details of hospitalization, but there are also parts that are universally relevant. I genuinely believe that there isn’t a person out there who wouldn’t benefit from some piece of information found within this book.

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read for anyone working in mental health care since suicidality is one the most common psychiatric emergencies. Stacey Freedenthal has extensive experience regarding this topic and manages to cover wide spectrum of situations mental health professional might come across in their practice and how to deal with them in the most helpful way possible. It deals with how to communicate about this taboo topic, how to recognize emergency, when to pursue hospitalization, prevention, safety-plans, long-term approach, etc.. What I found eye-opening and just as important are tips regarding clinician's own attitudes towards suicide itself, dealing with our personal philosophies, ideologies, fears and biases...Overall, it is a type of book, you can read over and over and still learn something useful

[Sarah Sailer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who works with suicide/suicidality in any capacity. From examining professionals’ own concepts and thoughts about suicide, to assessing lethality and access to lethal means, to estimating risk and planning for treatment, this book has influenced my practice and has helped me deal with the complex nature of both acute and chronic suicidality in the therapy room. I’m so grateful to have this book!

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great guide that balanced between the reflective and the instructional in how to unpack, understand and manage something that had seemed well... unmanageable. I enjoyed its short chapters, each one with a practical and sensitive tip (along with a case vignette) on how to tackle suicide in therapy.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with great tips for working with anyone who is considering a suicidal attempt or is struggling with suicidal ideology. I learned so much and feel more confident to engage if ever need be.

[kennedy parrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have gotten away from giving star ratings to books that aren't explicitly fiction, but TRULY. This is one of the most practically helpful books I have read in my graduate career, and as a school MHP this is a resource I'm sure I will be revisiting time and time again.

[Dani Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave lots of tools and food for thought. Gave examples at the end of each tip. Could be triggering- difficult subject to speed read/read for a book club for said reason. Read at rate that is digestible for you

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I regret not owning this book a few years back. I have highlights, and will go back to tab and take notes. One of the best books I could own.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so dark and difficult to get through at the beginning, but it is so practical and worth it, I feel so much better prepared to serve my suicidal clients effectively

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straightforward techniques that are explained in a practical manner.

[Meredith]

A really excellent and practical read for anyone in the mental health field

[Amy]

highly recommended for anyone working as a therapist, or anyone with mental health issues. the book has a conversational tone and real life case examples. excellent tool to have in your office.