title: The management and mismanagement of a suicidal patient.
abstract: The author begins with the premise that the actions of therapists and hospital staff can contribute to the likelihood that a suicidal patient will eventually take his life. He recounts a case history of a depressed 51-year-old man who was hospitalized following a suicide attempt and delineates eight "mistakes" that contributed to the patient's eventual suicide and that are common occurrences in dealing with a suicidal patient. He believes that if more therapists and mental health professionals share mistakes and experiences of this kind with each other, such errors might be minimized or even prevented.
mesh_terms: D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D000092864:Suicide Prevention