Preparing for the Inevitable: Training Social Workers to Cope with Client Suicide |
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| Authors: | Sara Sanders PhD and LSW Jodi M Jacobson PhD and LCSW-C Laura Ting PhD and LCSW-C |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Social Work, University of Iowa , 355 North Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242;2. Department of Family Studies , Towson University , 8000 York Road, Towson, MD, 21252;3. School of Social Work, University of Maryland , Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD, 21250 |
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| Abstract: | Little attention has been given to educating and training social work students and professionals about working with suicidal clients. This article summarizes the literature on client suicide and the professional social worker, as well as presents results from a mixed methods study, which utilized both qualitative and quantitative data collected from a national study on client suicide among social workers. The results indicate that 55% of social workers will experience at least one client suicide attempt and 31% will experience a client suicide completion during the course of their career. Additionally, less than 50% of the social workers surveyed received previous training or education about client suicide in their MSW programs. Suggestions from social workers for the content of training classes on client suicide are included. Implications for practice and research are also discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Social workers client suicide education training |
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