These Suicide Assessment Guidelines & Resources are intended as a guide for clinical decision making, and are based on known and significant risk factors (correlates) of suicide and can be downloaded as an A5 PDF. Review these guidelines here.

The scores obtained through the questions here and their resultant recommendations, should not be considered conclusive, because individuals may not necessarily answer questions straightforwardly, and are always free to act contrary to what they say.

Whenever possible, it is important to discuss any intended action with a colleague for a second opinion and added perspective, especially when there appears to be a high risk requiring immediate interventive action.

When using the questions in these guidelines, please read the important accompanying guidance notes in parentheses.

Compiled by Dr John Ashfield. A more expansive version of these assessment guidelines has been adapted for and is in use in Palliative Care in the UK. Disclaimer: The impression gained from using these assessment guidelines, is not a diagnosis of any mental health difficulty, it is a means of understanding a client’s perception and memory of their experience and behaviour at that point in time. However, this may suffice as a basis for thoughtful collaborative action if there are indications suggesting a client/patient may be at risk.