title: Training mental health professionals to assess and manage suicidal behavior: can provider confidence and practice behaviors be altered?
abstract: Remarkably little systematic research has studied the effects of clinical suicidology training on changing practitioner attitudes and behaviors. In the current study we investigated whether training in an empirically-based assessment and treatment approach to suicidal patients administered through a continuing education workshop could meaningfully impact professional practices, clinic policy, clinician confidence, and beliefs posttraining and 6 months later. At the 6 month follow-up we found that 44% of practitioners reported increased confidence in assessing suicide risk, 54% reported increased confidence in managing suicidal patients, 83% reported changing suicide care practices, and 66% reported changing clinic policy. These results suggest that a brief and carefully developed workshop training experience can potentially change provider perceptions and behaviors with a possible impact on clinical care therein.
authors.affiliation: The Catholic University of America, Department of Psychology, Washington, D.C. 20064, USA. jobes@cua.edu
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Oordt
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Jobes
authors.forename: Vincent P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004496:Education, Continuing; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000092864:Suicide Prevention