Recognizing and helping the suicidal patient in chiropractic practice

The assessment of a patient's suicide risk is often difficult for the busy practitioner. The present article examined chiropractic interns' and doctors' ability to recognize suicide lethality factors in their patients. On a suicide lethality scale, chiropractic interns and doctors scored significantly lower than a sample of physicians and psychologists and did not score significantly differently than ministers and college students. There was no significant difference between the scores of chiropractic interns and doctors. The article discusses important factors in assessing patient's suicide risk, such as: current mood; suicide plan; and present life circumstances. Suggestions for helping the suicidal patient in co-operation with a psychiatrist or psychologist are presented.