Post a reflection on the decisions you made in the risk assessment client scenario. What did you choose to do, and why?

Risk Assessment

When do you seek help, and when do you say, “I’ve got this”? When do you opt for consultation or supervision, and when do you trust your professional judgment? As you advance toward the end of your MSW degree, your training, education, and experiences have likely increased your confidence in decision making. You may find that you are now able to handle client situations independently, whereas you needed assistance in the past. 

When it comes to clients exhibiting warning signs of suicidality, however, you are more likely to need support in order to meet legal and ethical requirements, agency policies, and your professional responsibility to the client. Such situations can involve deciphering client comments to determine whether there is an obvious threat of impending harm, or just vague references with no means to follow through. 

For this Discussion, you navigate a scenario involving a client at risk for suicide, making choices about your questioning, techniques, and need for support. You then reflect on the scenario and the extent to which the choices you made align with your agency’s policies. 

To prepare:

• Access and complete the interactive media in the Learning Resources.

• Consider the choices you make while navigating the client scenario and your reasoning behind those choices.

• Explore your agency’s policies concerning clients at risk.

BY DAY 3

Post a reflection on the decisions you made in the risk assessment client scenario. What did you choose to do, and why? Then, describe your agency’s scope of practice and its policies related to clients at risk. How would these policies have changed your actions in the interactive scenario?

REFERENCES 

• Walden University, LLC. (2023). Suicide risk assessment in advanced practiceLinks to an external site. [Interactive media]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com