How to Talk About Suicide with Therapy Clients + Safety Planning | Therapist THRIVAL Guide: Ep. 9

[@siriushp0904]

I am someone that struggles with suicidality. Actually the reason I clicked on this video. A couple thoughts I had watching this: I think personally speaking you guys are spot on about asking questions and the risk that poses. If anything I left offices at the same level of risk I walked in with. The questions didn’t increase those thoughts. I think he was spot on when he said losing hope was some of the darkest moments to be in. That’s a tunnel that has no light. Also, I knew about 988, but I didn’t know you could text and call I just thought it was one or the other.

[@traditionaltools5080]

Excellent discussion. I will point out that building a relationship seems like a luxury when even affording a therapist is impossible. Just finding a good therapist you can afford, doesnt move, taking time off work, etc is really tough. I do find the idea of hope interesting. Hope in what or for what? Its such a vague term. How do you know they are amazing people or things will change? Hope by definition is fleeting. It's crossing your fingers that everything turns out in the end. Or something turns out. On the flip side, you have Buddhist teachings that say life is suffering. Reincarnation is endless suffering. We've built a global religion on focusing that there is no hope. Only truth.

[@lovelyrainflowerfarm]

GUYS!!! You’ve got to have Dr. Scott Eilers on for an interview. He’s a psychologist with a private practice. He’s on KZbin and his channel is all about helping people who are not getting the help they need from therapy. He’s gone thru crippling depression and anxiety, and he knows that what graduate programs teach is inadequate. in NO way do they provide any idea of how to practically help or talk to their clients in real life. I think he’s right up your alley. Please please please 🙏

[@TherapistThrivalguide]

I'll have to look him up! Thank you for the suggestion!

[@larry3498]

Your discussion is representative of all discussions involving professionals regarding suicide. In fact, you and your guests are utterly failing to discuss suicide, you are advocating the position that choosing life is always to correct choice. How refreshing if you included a guest who recognized some people would be better off with this life. What you’re doing is conducting an over long exercise in confirmation bias.

[@torenielsen9993]

Well said!

[@TherapistThrivalguide]

I appreciate the feedback. This was our first episode tackling this subject (which many professionals are afraid to discuss). We hope to revisit this conversation with new guests and new ideas in the next season.

[@GSG196]

wtf

[@stilawesome3586]

As a veteran with a permanent blast injury that comes with chronic pain that has a 34% suicide rate, the VA has a very straight forward way of getting two answers from me with one question: "what's your pain level?" 1= great day (I'm taking opioids) 2= better than usual (I'm taking ibuprofen) 3= usual 4= bit more than usual but I'm good 5= something is off, but tolerable 6= calling the clinic, becoming intolerable 7= thinking of suicide, pain is intolerable and it's messing with my head (mentally compromised), going to ER 8= looking for ways to kill myself, looking to make the pain stop, will try to stop myself from being impulsive but might not be able to , calling 988 9= totally impulsive, actively doing anything to make it go away, calling 911, reset to pain level 1 So if I say 3 they are happy but if I say 7, they know that's my way of saying "help me" without saying another word That's the safety plan I had with the VA for 18 years and it's as simple as that

[@TherapistThrivalguide]

Tools like these can be really helpful for clinicians, especially when they can be tailored to your clients. Thank you for your service.

[@GSG196]

Thanks - as a new therapist this was very helpful

[@TherapistThrivalguide]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hellfireagency]

If therapists can be sued, this problem will never be solved. It's impossible to get therapists to care about/for suicidal people if it could cost them their livelihood.

[@TherapistThrivalguide]

It certainly makes people more fearful. Thanks for joining the conversation!

[@hellfireagency]

@@TherapistThrivalguide what conversation? No one is allowed to fucking talk about this. We cant have conversations about it because no one wants the problem to get better and pisses me all the way the fuck off.

[@TherapistThrivalguide]

@@hellfireagency I meant thanks for commenting and adding that thought. You're pointing out a scary part of this. All therapists that I know deeply care about their clients and want them to get better. I think some therapists are underprepared in dealing with suicidal clients, which is why we added this episode and several others about this topic (you can find them in our channel). We want therapists to feel less fearful of the topic so they can address it straightforward with their clients.