COLUMBIA-SUICIDE SEVERITY RATING SCALE
The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), the most evidence-supported tool of its kind, is a simple series of questions that anyone can use anywhere in the world to prevent suicide.
How it works
The Columbia Protocol supports suicide risk assessment through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask. The answers help users identify whether someone is at risk for suicide, assess the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauge the level of support that the person needs. Users of the tool ask people:
- Whether and when they have thought about suicide (ideation)
- What actions they have taken - and when - to prepare for suicide
- Whether and when they attempted suicide or began a suicide attempt that was either interrupted by another person or stopped of their own volition
Suicide Prevention Benefits
The first step in effective suicide prevention is to identify everyone who needs help. The Columbia Protocol was the first scale to address the full range of suicidal thoughts and behaviors that point to heightened risk. That means it identifies risk not only if someone has previously attempted suicide, but also if he or she has considered suicide, prepared for an attempt (for example, buying a gun, collecting pills, or writing a suicide note), or aborted plans for suicide because of a last-minute change of heart or a friend's intervention.
The Columbia Protocol screens for this wide range of risk factors without becoming unwieldy or overwhelming, because it includes the most essential evidence-supported questions required for a thorough assessment.
The Columbia Protocol is:
- Simple. Ask all the questions in a few moments or minutes - with no mental health training required to ask them.
- Efficient. Use of the protocol redirects resources to where they're needed most. It reduces unnecessary referrals and interventions by more accurately identifying who needs help - and it makes it easier to correctly identify the level of support a person needs, such as patient safety monitoring procedures, counseling, or emergency room care.
- Effective. Real-world experience and data show the protocol has helped prevent suicide.
- Evidence-supported. An unprecedented amount of research has validated the relevance and effectiveness of the questions used in the Columbia Protocol to assess suicide risk, making it the most evidence-based tool of it's kind.
- Universal. The Columbia Protocol is suitable for all ages and special populations in different settings and is available in more than 100 country-specific languages.
- Free. The protocol and the training on how to use it are available free of charge for use in community and healthcare settings, as well as in federally funded or nonprofit research.
More information on the Columbia Protocol can be found by reviewing the slide show notes from the Suicide Prevention training provided by Parkside Psychiatric Hospital and Clinic.
Resources
Parkside Psychiatric Hospital & Clinic
(918) 588-8888
www.songbyrdbehavioralhealth.com
The Columbia Lighthouse Project
http://cssrs.columbia.edu/
Don't forget to complete your continuing education credit report for each training you complete. This will help to ensure that you are receiving credit for any training hours completed and that those hours are applied to your 12 hours per year in-service requirements.
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