Psychotherapy Designed to Detect and Treat Suicidal Potential
HARVEY M. SHEIN M.D.1, and
ALAN A. STONE M.D.2
1 Assistant psychiatrist and assistant neuropathologist, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Mass. 02178, assistant professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
2 Associate psychiatrist, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Mass. 02178, assistant professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, lecturer in psychiatry, Harvard Law School
The authors point out the present failure of many psychiatrists to recognize potentially suicidal patients. They describe a five-stage clinical approach to treatment of such patients, utilizing a continuous assessment of suicidal potential. The approach introduces a system of priority of values, with preservation, of life uppermost.
