CLEE Crisis Intervention and Suicidality 2

Question 1

A client tells their therapist they plan to overdose on pills at home that evening. The therapist's MOST appropriate first action is to:

Accepted Answer

Conduct a thorough safety assessment and attempt to engage the client in collaborative safety planning

Answer

Call 911 immediately without further conversation with the client

Answer

Consult the BBS ethics hotline before taking any action

Answer

Document the conversation and schedule a next-day follow-up appointment

Question 2

A 'No-Harm Contract' or 'Safety Contract' in suicide risk management is best understood as:

Accepted Answer

A clinical tool that may be useful as part of a broader safety plan but is insufficient on its own

Answer

A legally binding document that protects the therapist from malpractice liability

Answer

A mandatory requirement under California law for all clients with suicidal ideation

Answer

An evidence-based intervention that definitively and independently reduces suicide risk

Question 3

Which California Welfare and Institutions Code section authorizes a 14-day involuntary psychiatric hold for intensive treatment after an initial 5150 hold?

Accepted Answer

WIC 5250

Answer

WIC 5150

Answer

WIC 5270

Answer

WIC 5300

Question 4

A therapist's client is acutely suicidal and refuses voluntary hospitalization. The therapist's MOST appropriate response is to:

Accepted Answer

Consider initiating a 5150 hold if criteria are met and less restrictive options have not been sufficient

Answer

Honor the client's autonomous decision, as competent adults have the absolute right to refuse hospitalization

Answer

Immediately terminate the therapeutic relationship to avoid liability

Answer

Obtain a court order before taking any involuntary action

Question 5

A California licensed therapist who fails to take reasonable protective action when a client poses a foreseeable serious threat to a third party may face liability under:

Accepted Answer

Tort law based on the Tarasoff duty to protect

Answer

The Privacy Rule of HIPAA

Answer

California Business and Professions Code Section 2960 alone

Answer

The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act exclusively

Question 6

Which of the following is a PRIMARY dynamic (modifiable) risk factor for suicide?

Accepted Answer

Current hopelessness and acute psychological pain

Answer

Family history of completed suicide

Answer

Male gender

Answer

History of childhood abuse or trauma

Question 7

When documenting a suicide risk assessment, a therapist should include:

Accepted Answer

A comprehensive account of risk and protective factors, clinical reasoning, interventions taken, and the follow-up plan

Answer

Only the final conclusion of low, moderate, or high risk

Answer

A signed no-harm contract from the client as the primary documentation

Answer

An attestation that the therapist consulted with a supervisor during the assessment