Respond to at least two colleagues by highlighting potential missed risk or protective factors. Explain how these factors may change how a social worker would intervene.
Use the Learning Resources to support your posts. Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list.
1-TUB-
ASSESSMENT OF CLIENT’S SUICIDE RISK
Adjusting to his new life outside the military, Mike, a new military veteran with issues is experiencing sleep deprivation and has begun engaging and reckless behaviors such as drinking and driving. His wife gave him an ultimatum of leaving if he did not seek for treatment.
I would use the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Risk Assessment tool for this scenario. The evaluation is more specific. This evaluation caught my eye because of its focus on specifics and usefulness.
Throughout intake, I would need to work with Mike to build a rapport so that he would feel comfortable opening up to me and be willing to talk about his feelings.
IDENTIFY THE RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS THAT LED TO YOU IN THIS ASSESSMENT
He does not feel like he belongs in his family’s struggling fighting appointment and getting into the daily routine that his family has been doing since you been gone, he feels stuck and confined. As mentioned earlier, he struggles with sleep and is experiencing PTSD nightmares which is why he turned to alcohol. He also stated that he “became adept at seeing life as it is right now by not anticipating what would come next”. Suppressing his emotions, Mike feels like coming home is the problem and feels guilty that his comrades are gone. He has a positive support system, his wife, who encouraged him to seek out therapy to begin with. He already has the desire to want to get healthy and get better, even if he is not doing it for himself but for his wife and children. He wants to ensure that he is there for his sons and that it is his best self, so they have an excellent example to follow.
EXPLAIN WHAT FURTHER STEMS AND/OR INTERVENTIONS YOU WOULD TAKE AS THE CLIENT’S SOCIAL WORKER, BASED ON THE SUICIDE RISK ASSESSMENT
When a social worker is doing a suicide assessment, they need to consider a person’s past and present mental health and thoughts of suicide ideation or behaviors. They also must ensure that the individual has a support system (Brandell, 2020). The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale considers Mike to be at low risk for suicide at this time, despite the difficulties he has had integrating back into society. According to the suicide risk assessment, the tiny voice in the back of his head that keep questioning him why he is still alive, and his friends are not would be the emphasis. If I were Mike’s social worker, my first step would be to establish a safety plan and a 6-step clinical dialogue to help minimize the risk of suicide (Brandell, 2020). The purpose of a safety plan would be to help Mike notice his warning signs and be able to notify his support system. It will help as other cupping the methods to help diffuse the situation. I could also benefit from some type of cognitive face therapy intervention to help change his negative perception and the internal story of his life. I could help him understand his negative thoughts and help reinforce them with positive ones.
2-AND-
Mike is a military veteran that is struggling with adjusting to life again with after combat. Mike has stated that he has struggled with dreams and that he has been using drinking to help himself to cope with the feeling that he is having. He feels as if he is struggling with fitting into his family and working at building a healthy routine. Mike has talked about his family has a routine since he left and he does not fit in. He has been looking for work, yet not very hard due to his drinking.
Before assessing Mike it is important to understand the things to look for. Completing a safety plan with a client can go a long ways and does have the ability to measure where the client is at. Clinical work with a suicidal person includes screening, suicide risk assessment, intervention (including safety planning), monitoring, and service coordination (including referral and transition) Brandell, 2020). It is also important to understand that ideations can come with mental health diagnoses.
Looking at the risk factors with Mike there are many that can raise concern.
Mike is feeling no sense of purpose. He is feeling that he is not fitting in with his family and that he is not working.
Mike is struggling with substance use. He is drinking a large amount each day to cope with feelings that he is having and to help with his dreams at night.
Mike is displaying reckless behaviors. Again he is drinking a lot and talking about drinking more
Mike is also feeling trapped. He feels like he is not getting ahead and he is struggling with finding a job. He is also having feeling of why he is still here and his friends are not.
Mike is not sleeping. He is waking up in the middle of the night with nightmare from the things that he has been through. He tries to drink enough so that he can fall asleep.
Mike stated that he has thought about why he is here, and thought about death. He says he cannot follow through with it. Mike does show that he is having suicidal ideations.
Looking at Mike he would be a low risk. He does not have the intention and has not thought about a plan. The thought of death is there (Columbia Lighthouse Project).
With Mike the best treatment would be make the referral for a substance abuse evaluation to address the drinking concern. He does have risk factors with his drinking. Helping with getting him treatment could help.
Looking at making the referral for medication management to help with the sleeping and nightmares.
Therapy continued therapy to help Mike process through his feelings and talking about the trauma he does have. Trauma informed care could be great for Mike and maybe EMDR. To help with ground and coping skills.
Also looking at job service programs. Looking for these services within the VA, this can help Mike with finding support from other that maybe going through some of the same things that he is going through. It might also be important to give Mike information to support groups along with crisis help lines so that he able to talk with individuals when he is struggling.
Mike is reaching out for help and talking about the feelings that he is having. Mike is stating that he could never do it to his kids. Mike has thought about the consequences of his behaviors.
Brandell, J. R. (Ed.). (2020). Theory & practice in clinical social work (3rd ed.). Cognella.