Clinicians Lobby for a New Way to Assess Suicide Risk

Clinicians often rely on patients to disclose thoughts of self-harm, but some are lobbying for a new diagnosis to better assess the risk.

In his nearly 40-year career as a psychiatrist, Dr. Igor Galynker has lost three patients to suicide while they were under his care. None of them had told him that they intended to harm themselves.

In one case, a patient who Dr. Galynker had been treating for a year sent him a present — a porcelain caviar dish — and a letter, telling Dr. Galynker that it wasn’t his fault. It arrived one week after the man died by suicide.

“That was pretty devastating,” Dr. Galynker said, adding, “It took me maybe two years to come to terms with it.”

He began to wonder: What happens in people’s minds before they kill themselves? What is the difference between that day and the day before?

Nobody seemed to know the answer.

Suicide rates continue to rise; it is now the third leading cause of death worldwide among those 15 to 29. But despite decades of research into suicide prevention, it is still very difficult to know whether someone will try to die by suicide.

Continue reading on The New York Times. Written by Christina Caron.