Suicide Case Studies

1. List five warning signs for each of the clients in the case studies (10 points)

Case #1John 1. Sleep difficulties and increased agitation.
2. Lack of social activity.
3. Stopped engaging in previously enjoyed activities and expressed difficulty enjoying life.
4. Feelings of guilt related to his deployment and unresolved moral crises regarding his dutyies.
5. Self-inflicted injury, such as pulling his hair and hitting himself.
6. Feeling his job performance is below standard and concerned about his coworkers’ feelings about his level of comptenency.
7. Increased thoughts of shooting himself in the head.
8. Recent move has resulted in loss of social support in terms of friendships. Marital problems due to behavior.

Case #2 Jane 1. Extreme

Among these competencies is the practice of self-awareness regarding their own personal beliefs, attitudes, and reactions regarding suicide and prevention of their biases interfering with their ability to provide an appropriate assessment and treatment plan. Additionally, as with all forms of counseling, the establishment of a strong therapeutic alliance is essential to the success of assessing a treating clients with suicidal ideation (Jackson-Cherry & Erford,

Both case examples present differently, but much of the crisis work is the same. For each case, imagine you are the counselor and have to make a recommendation of outpatient or inpatient care. Discuss the rationale for referral to outpatient or inpatient treatment in for both of these cases (30 points). Use empirical sources (at least 2) to cite your rationale (APA).

John and Jane both present levels of suicide risk that requires intervention. Joiner, as cited by Anestis, Bryan, Cornette, and Joiner (2009), posits a sense of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdenesomeness create a desire to commit suicide, while exposure to, or enaging in, violence and/or self-injury increases their acquired capacity to commit suicide. According to the case studies by Anestis et al. (2009), both John and Jane exhibit all three variables of this theory to varying degree. John’s feeling of thwarted belongingness include his reduced feelings of connectedness with his peers resulting from his reluctance to discuss his deployment experiences, the strain placed upon his relationship with his wife, and social isolation due to a recent move to a new community where he did not know many people. Similarly, Jane had voluntarily withdrawn from her family and friends, thus increasing her social isolation. John’s feelings of increased burdonsomeness stem from his avoidance of working in the emergency room and feelings of incompetence at his job, thus increasing the workload of his peers, while Jane’s