Health professionals

Risk assessment

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SuicideLine Victoria offers free counselling for anyone who is struggling with situations in their life, from feeling low or stressed to the more complex issues of suicidal thoughts and grief arising from suicide. We provide single session services to all callers and online counselling users, and multi-session services to eligible clients.

In a single session, each interaction is treated as a stand-alone counselling session where we work with the client on the issue that is of greatest concern to them. Our multi-session service is a tailored program for clients where they can have up to four sessions with the same counsellor.

More information on how our counselling services work, key topics and how to refer a client can be found below.

Risk assessment

Assessing for risk of suicide

Not all health professionals treat suicidal clients on a regular basis and therefore it can be challenging when a client presents with suicide risk. The management of a person at risk of suicide requires the assessment of risk, followed by appropriate interventions to minimise any risk.

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Risk assessment

Completing a risk assessment

Many tools used by health professionals to assess suicide risk rely heavily upon verbal information from patients, despite the majority of interpersonal communication being of a non-verbal nature. To facilitate a more thorough risk assessment, both verbal and non-verbal cues must be assessed.

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