Practitioner Experiences Responding to Suicide Risk for Survivors of Human Trafficking in the Philippines

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110628
Author(s):  
Laura Cordisco Tsai ◽  
Catherine Carlson ◽  
Rhea Baylosis ◽  
Elizabeth Hentschel ◽  
Terriann Nicholson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Culturally Adapted ◽  
Prevention Interventions

Human trafficking survivors experience elevated suicide risk in comparison to the general population. Anti-trafficking service providers in the Philippines have identified capacity building in suicide prevention as a critical priority given the insufficient number of trained mental health professionals and lack of culturally adapted evidence-based interventions in the Philippines. We conducted a focused ethnography exploring the experiences of non-mental health professionals working in the anti-human trafficking sector in the Philippines in responding to suicidality among survivors of human trafficking ( n = 20). Themes included: emotional burden on service providers, manifestations of stigma regarding suicide, lack of clarity regarding risk assessment, lack of mental health services and support systems, transferring responsibility to other providers, and the need for training, supervision, and organizational systems. We discuss implications for training service providers in the anti-human trafficking sector, as well as cultural adaptation of suicide prevention interventions with human trafficking survivors in the Philippines.

scholarly journals Structuring Roles and Gender Identities Within Families Explaining Suicidal Behavior in South India

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reena A. Lasrado ◽  
Khatidja Chantler ◽  
Rubina Jasani ◽  
Alys Young
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Suicidal Behavior ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
South India ◽  
Attempted Suicide ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Problem Situation

Abstract. Background: This paper examines the social structures, culture, gendered roles, and their implications for suicidal behavior in South India. Exploring the cultural process within the structures of family and society to understand suicide and attempted suicide from the perspectives of survivors, mental health professionals, and traditional healers has not been achieved in the existing suicide-related research studies conducted in India to date. Aims: This study aimed to explore the cultural implications of attempted suicide by examining the survivors' life stories, their perceptions, and service providers’ interpretations of problem situation. Method: A qualitative design was used drawing on constant comparison method and thematic analysis. The analysis was underpinned by the theoretical concepts of Bourdieu's work. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 survivors of attempted suicide, eight mental health professionals, and eight traditional healers from Southern India. Results: The study found interactions among visible and invisible fields such as faith, power, control, culture, family, religion, and social systems to have strengthened the disparities in gender and role structures within families and societies and to have impacted survivors’ dispositions to situations. Conclusion: The role of culture in causing suicide and attempted suicide is explained by unraveling the negative impact of interacting cultural and structural mechanisms.

scholarly journals Dermatologists’ perceptions of suicidality in dermatological practice: a survey of prevalence estimates and attitudes in Austria

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Pronizius ◽  
Martin Voracek
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Atopic Dermatitis ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Treatment Quality ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Low Rate

Abstract Background Chronic illnesses belong to suicide risk factors. The goal of the current study was to estimate the rate of suicide-related behaviors in patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or acne from a third-person perspective (namely, Austrian dermatologists). Methods A link to a questionnaire specially developed for this study was emailed to 450 self-employed dermatologists in Austria, from which a total of 45 participated. Results Three dermatologists reported more than five patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, or acne who committed suicide in 2017. Seven doctors treated between 1 and 10 such patients suffering from suicidal ideation. These results are suggestive for a low rate of suicidal ideations in Austrian dermatology ordinations. The majority of dermatologists in the sample (82%) knew that these patients are at higher suicide risk. 60% of participants also believed that it rather would not be a problem for them to recognize suicidal ideation. When facing patients in a suicide crisis, reported intervention steps were: referring them to a specialist in psychiatry, or having a conversation about it. In the sample, most challenging about suicide was lack of time and lack of knowledge. Dermatologists were also interested in cooperating with mental health professionals and in the implementation of new prevention strategies (e.g., suicide-related training programs). Analysis revealed that private specialists, as compared with contract physicians, had fewer patients, but spent more time with them. Yet, these differences did not appear to influence the quality of treatment they provided. Treatment quality was defined as the extent to which doctors tell their patients that additional psychological treatments could be helpful and asking them about their emotional state. Female gender and a professional background in psychology impacted positively on treatment quality. Conclusions Possible explanations for the low rate of suicidal ideations reported include the advanced Austrian health care system and dermatologists’ underestimation of the problem. Implications of the study are to promote cooperation between dermatologists and mental health professionals and to address patient suicidality from a first-person perspective (i.e., the patients).

How do mental health professionals deal with uncertainty in suicide risk assessment?

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1628-1628
Author(s):  
K. Manley ◽  
J. Beezhold
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
List Type ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
Image Position

IntroductionSuicide risk-assessment forms a significant part of the workload of mental health professionals (MHPs). There is much research regarding efficacy of different methods/scales of suicide risk-assessment, and effects of formal training on risk-assessment. To date, there is little investigation into how approach to risk-assessment varies amongst professionals on an individual level, or how MHPs react when confronted by lack of information.ObjectiveThis study evaluated how MHPs respond to uncertainty when assessing suicide risk.Methods720 MHPs were given 10 clinical scenarios and asked to assess suicide risk in each case. The scenarios were a mixture of high, medium and low risk cases. In addition, there were scenarios where information provided was incomplete or ambiguous. Subjects graded suicide risk-severity from 1–10 (1 = low, 10 = high).ResultsThe simple scenarios produced a predictable consensus of opinion amongst MHPs. The ambiguous scenario produced three distinct response peaks (Fig. 1) at low, medium, and high risk.Fig. 1[Fig 1]ConclusionsAmbiguous suicide risk separates MHPs into three responder groups:1.‘don’t know’2.more cautious, assumes higher risk3.less cautious, assumes lower risk.This has implications for suicide risk training. Further research is required to fully understand why individuals respond in different ways to suicide risk scenarios.

Mental Health Training Needs Analysis in Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia: Challenges and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 1739-1745
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Basic Skills ◽  
Training Needs ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Mental Health Issues

Objective: Even though the number of health professionals is growing in many counties in Southeast Asia, the shortage of mental health professionals remains a challenge. The current model of professional training needs to be changed to foster cooperative and collaborative skills, through interprofessional and transprofessional education, so professionals as well as non-professional service providers and operational personnel are trained to be members of the health teams. However, training needs in each Southeast Asian country remains unknown. The present study surveyed these needs using Hennessy-Hick’s criteria and experts’ opinions. Materials and Methods: Fifteen representatives from Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia, mostly psychiatrists, nurses, and psychologists, attended the meeting and presented for 30 to 50 minutes on the condition of mental health services and training needs in their countries. All representatives were asked to complete an online-shared report of the adapted Hennessy-Hicks Training Analysis Questionnaires. Results: According to the Hennessy-Hick’s criteria, some teamwork tasks were required for Thailand, whereas most tasks were required for Indonesia and Cambodia. Training on special topics depended on the country’s necessity. Basic skills are needed in all ranges of mental health issues. Thailand and Indonesia expressed quite similar needs, while Thailand had identified itself as having ‘an aging society’, which ‘caring for patients with dementia and caregivers’ in their training needs were more urgent than Indonesia. Training non-psychiatric professionals, such as primary physicians and nurses, concerning mental health issues, might help to address current mental health needs in Thailand, while Cambodia was concerned about recruiting mental health professionals and focusing on providing sufficient services for the country rather than training non-professionals to deal with mental health issues. Conclusion: The training needs for mental health professionals centered on research, clinical tasks, and communication, while including nonprofessional mental health providers in training of basic skills such as communication and up-to-date technology are deemed important at the present. Keywords: Training Needs Analysis; Thailand; Cambodia; Indonesia; Mental Health

scholarly journals Perception of Suicide Risk in Mental Health Professionals

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e0149791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim M. Gale ◽  
Christopher J. Hawley ◽  
John Butler ◽  
Adrian Morton ◽  
Ankush Singhal
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Suicide Risk

scholarly journals Suicide mitigation: a compassionate approach to suicide prevention

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 276-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alys Cole-King ◽  
Gill Green ◽  
Linda Gask ◽  
Kevin Hines ◽  
Stephen Platt
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Everyday Clinical Practice ◽  
Suicidal Person ◽  
Do So

SummaryThe death of a patient by suicide can severely affect mental health professionals, particularly if it occurs despite major efforts to intervene. Notwithstanding the difficulties faced by clinicians, suicide prevention remains of paramount importance in order to help save lives. This article seeks to promote a pragmatic and compassionate biopsychosocial response using evidence-based interventions to reduce suicide. It introduces practical strategies that psychiatrists can use in everyday clinical practice, in particular the paradigm shift of suicide mitigation to help prevent suicide. We believe that every encounter with a suicidal person is an opportunity to intervene to reduce their distress and, potentially, to save a life. We believe that it is no longer acceptable for clinicians to state that if patients wish to kill themselves they can do so, in the absence of any attempt at a compassionate intervention.

scholarly journals Attitudes towards seclusion and restraint in mental health settings: findings from a large, community-based survey of consumers, carers and mental health professionals

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Kinner ◽  
C. Harvey ◽  
B. Hamilton ◽  
L. Brophy ◽  
C. Roper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Consumer Safety ◽  
Mental Health Settings

Aims.There are growing calls to reduce, and where possible eliminate, the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health settings, but the attitudes and beliefs of consumers, carers and mental health professionals towards these practices are not well understood. The aim of this study was to compare the attitudes of mental health service consumers, carers and mental health professionals towards seclusion and restraint in mental health settings. In particular, it aimed to explore beliefs regarding whether elimination of seclusion and restraint was desirable and possible.Methods.In 2014, an online survey was developed and widely advertised in Australia via the National Mental Health Commission and through mental health networks. The survey adopted a mixed-methods design, including both quantitative and qualitative questions concerning participants’ demographic details, the use of seclusion and restraint in practice and their views on strategies for reducing and eliminating these practices.Results.In total 1150 survey responses were analysed. A large majority of participants believed that seclusion and restraint practices were likely to cause harm, breach human rights, compromise trust and potentially cause or trigger past trauma. Consumers were more likely than professionals to view these practices as harmful. The vast majority of participants believed that it was both desirable and feasible to eliminate mechanical restraint. Many participants, particularly professionals, believed that seclusion and some forms of restraint were likely to produce some benefits, including increasing consumer safety, increasing the safety of staff and others and setting behavioural boundaries.Conclusions.There was strong agreement across participant groups that the use of seclusion and restraint is harmful, breaches human rights and compromises the therapeutic relationship and trust between mental health service providers and those who experience these restrictive practices. However, some benefits were also identified, particularly by professionals. Participants had mixed views regarding the feasibility and desirability of eliminating these practices.

scholarly journals THE CHALLENGES OF SCHOOL-BASED YOUTH SUICIDE PREVENTION: EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-44
Author(s):  
Maryke Woolf ◽  
Jason Bantjes ◽  
Ashraf Kagee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
South African ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Suicidal Behaviour ◽  
School Based

Youth suicidal behaviour poses a significant public health concern. Mental health care professionals working in schools have an important role to play in youth suicide prevention initiatives, although little is known of the experiences of this group of professionals in low and middle income countries (LMIC’s). The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of mental health professionals working in South African schools and to document their insights, attitudes and beliefs regarding youth suicidal behaviour. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven school-based mental health care professionals and data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Participants reported that they relied on a reactive strategy by responding to youths who were in crisis. They were challenged by a lack of support from faculty staff, a lack of access to resources, and heavy caseloads. Findings highlight the need for a proactive and collaborative approach to suicide prevention among mental health care professionals, teachers and parents in South African schools and improved training and supervision.

Mental Health Professionals' Suicide Risk Assessment and Management Practices

Crisis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared F. Roush ◽  
Sarah L. Brown ◽  
Danielle R. Jahn ◽  
Sean M. Mitchell ◽  
Nathanael J. Taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Suicide Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management

Abstract. Background: Approximately 20% of suicide decedents have had contact with a mental health professional within 1 month prior to their death, and the majority of mental health professionals have treated suicidal individuals. Despite limited evidence-based training, mental health professionals make important clinical decisions related to suicide risk assessment and management. Aims: The current study aimed to determine the frequency of suicide risk assessment and management practices and the association between fear of suicide-related outcomes or comfort working with suicidal individuals and adequacy of suicide risk management decisions among mental health professionals. Method: Mental health professionals completed self-report assessments of fear, comfort, and suicide risk assessment and management practices. Results: Approximately one third of mental health professionals did not ask every patient about current or previous suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Further, comfort, but not fear, was positively associated with greater odds of conducting evidence-based suicide risk assessments at first appointments and adequacy of suicide risk management practices with patients reporting suicide ideation and a recent suicide attempt. Limitations: The study utilized a cross-sectional design and self-report questionnaires. Conclusion: Although the majority of mental health professionals report using evidenced-based practices, there appears to be variability in utilization of evidence-based practices.

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