Risk Management with Suicidal Patients [Paperback]

How does the law define reasonable care in the treatment of suicidal patients? What are the most clinically and legally appropriate procedures for evaluating and managing suicide risks? And what forms of precautionary planning and documentation are recommended for minimizing the likelihood of malpractice actions? Drawing upon years of clinical experience as well as extensive malpractice claims data and relevant case law, this book outlines effective assessment, management, and treatment procedures that balance the need for high-quality care with the requirements of court-determined and statutory standards. Three widely cited papers on standards of care are accompanied by four new chapters on clinical and legal risk management and issues surrounding pharmacotherapy.

One-third of the psychologists and half the psychiatrists in this country will find themselves snared in malpractice actions in the course of their careers. These imbroglios usually drag on several years; practitioners pay a heavy price and at best can expect a searing emotional experience before such a case is concluded. If you want to keep out of painful lawsuits, study this book. Its contributors are a 'who's who' in suicide studies, and it reads as though it was written on the courthouse steps. Knowing what is in this book is the practitioner's best prophylaxis for safe practice. --John T. Maltsberger, MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Bruce Bongar, PhD, is Professor in the Clinical Psychology Program at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology (PGSP), in Palo Alto, California, Consulting Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Director of the joint doctoral program in Psychology and the Law offered by PGSP and Golden Gate University School of Law.

Alan L. Berman, PhD, is Executive Director of the American Association of Suicidology. He has published widely on tl3.