The Management of Suicidal Patients

Abstract

Research is quite limited in terms of production of evidence regarding psychosocial interventions or pharmacological treatments for suicidal risk. Such evidence is poor also because suicidal patients were systematically excluded from clinical trials, for ethical reasons. Several key ideas are important in the management of the suicidal person. First, the multidimensional assessment of suicidal risk defines the areas of interference with various axis I or axis II disorders, but also with the complex psychosocial environment of such patients. The therapeutic approach must be adapted by taking into account various factors (i.e. gender, age group, degree of social exclusion, etc.). Furthermore, case management must take into account the type of suicidal behavior (acute suicidal crisis or chronic suicidal state), this typology being dependent on the link with axis I disorders, more frequent in acute suicidal crisis, or with disorders belonging axis II, more common in chronic, repetitive suicidal behavior.