Suicide Risk Assessment in Youth

USING THE EVIDENCE

Suicide remains a leading cause of death amongst youth (10-24 years of age), and far outranks the fatalities of any medical illness.

The Learning objectives of the presentation are to:

1 Identify common myths and the realities behind the epidemiology of Canadian youth suicide.
2 Understand the motivations for suicide and how knowledge of these motivations can drive treatment approaches.
3 Advocate for broader and more comprehensive suicide risk screening and research.
4 Differentiate between non-suicidal behaviours and suicidal behaviours.
5 Have a realistic and medicolegally sound approach to assessing suicide in youth.
6 Recognize new and developing risk factors in assessing suicide behaviours in youth.

This presentation was given at The Royal in Ottawa on June 8, 2012.

Download the Presentation (PDF)

Other Files:

Screening for Suicide (PDF)
Click above to read about the importance of, the rationale for, and the methods to screen for suicide in youth.

ASARI Documentation Tool (PDF)
Click above to download the ASARI documentation tool, a comprehensive tool that allows for complete documentation and identification of suicide risk factors, assessments, and treatments.

ASARI Follow-Up Form (PDF)
Click above to download the ASARI follow-up tool, a much more open form to document risk assessment, intended to follow-up on a completed ASARI when risk is either improved or similar to the previous assessment.

About the Author

Dr. Tyler R. Black graduated completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours in Pharmacology at the University of Alberta in 1999, and completed medical school at the same university in 2003. He completed residency training in Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and the University of British Columbia in 2008, and completed his Child and Adolescent Psychiatry subspecialty that same year. He works primarily at BC Children's Hospital on the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency (CAPE) Unit where he is currently the clinical head. He is also a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Black's primary research and clinical interests include: emergency psychiatry, suicidology, violence and video games, and cross-cultural psychiatry.

Contact Dr. Tyler Black.