Assessing risk for completed suicide in patients with major depression: Psychologists' views of critical factors.

The assessment of risk for suicide in patients with major depression is a difficult task for professional psychologists. Not only is prediction itself a nearly impossible feat, but the literature is full of risk factors to which one should attend. Which of these factors are specific to the patient sitting before you? By combining clinical and empirical literature of major depression-specific risk factors with the reported behaviors of practicing psychologists, the authors present critical factors for assessing suicidal risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)