micro-interventions for suicidal patients · suicide death vs successful attempt suicide attempt vs...
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©NowMattersNow.org Dr.Ursula Whiteside
Micro-Interventions for Suicidal Patients
Ursula Whiteside, Ph.D.,CEO, NowMattersNow.org
Zero Suicide in Healthcare Summit Sydney Australia
February 27, 2017
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Review - Language MattersDied of Suicide vs Committed SuicideSuicide Death vs Successful Attempt
Suicide Attempt vs Unsuccessful Attempt Suicide vs Completed Suicide
Describe the Behavior vs ManipulativeWorking with vs Dealing with Suicidal Patients
•Motto & Bostrom, 2001
•Carter et al., 2005
•Vaiva et al., 2006
•Fleischmann et al., 2008
Micro-interventions:Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Micro-InterventionsMost people don’t want to die, just that they don’t how to feel better
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Micro-InterventionsMost people don’t want to die, just that they don’t how to feel better
“If you didn’t feel so (sad, depressed, hopeless) would you want to die?”
“If your divorce were resolved would you still be thinking about using a gun?”
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Micro-InterventionsSuicidal thoughts by themselves are
not dangerous
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Micro-InterventionsSuicidal thoughts by themselves are
not dangerous“What you do with the suicidal thought makes
all the difference”
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Micro-InterventionsA way of looking at stress and
explaining stress to people
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
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Explaining Stress
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
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Explaining Stress
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
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SELF-CARE
Explaining Stress
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Stre
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EVENT SKILLS
SELF-CARE
Explaining Stress
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Opposite Action VideoDiana Yanez-Cortes
Video
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Opposite Action – Suicidal Thoughts
1. Feelings are strong when people are having suicidal thoughts - and they often have strong urges to do things that are harmful to themselves. Is this true for you?
2. Opposite Action is about getting outside of your head and doing the opposite of what your urges are telling you to do.
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Opposite Action – Suicidal Thoughts (2/2)
3. Throw yourself entirely into doing something outside your head: cleaning, going for a walk, listening to music, playing a game online
4. Do this as if there were nothing else in the world to do
5. When you mind wanders back to worries and suicidal thoughts – acknowledge them and then throw yourself back into the moment (outside of your head)
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Stre
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EVENT SKILLS
SELF-CARE
Explaining Stress
SELF-VALIDATION
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Validation Reduces Neg Emotions• Listening, reflecting, mind-reading • “It makes sense given what you’ve been
through”• “Anyone would feel that way in that situation”• Name patient’s emotion and related thoughts,
non-verbal expressions and ask about how it feels in their body
• Be radically genuine & real with the patient…
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
Validation when there are problematic Interpretations
• Practice Validation– “My sister is such a *^%!!**. I know she is trying
to take my kids away. She hates me and I’ll never win with her”
• Validate the emotion – Over the content when content is likely
misinterpretation or highly judgmental of self or others
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
What else?
Social justice IS teaching people how to harness their emotions
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
• Treat my sleep problem
• Gently examine my paranoid thoughts with me
• I might feel like I’m bad or wrong for having these thoughts
• I might feel like I’m “in trouble” for reporting ideation
• Balance trusting me and my innate capabilities AND yourself as a clinician when what I reveal is potentially unsafe
• Ask, “Would you tell me if you did have [plans, a gun, pills etc]?” then PAUSE and watch my response and nonverbals
What Suicidal People Want -from Team Now Matters Now
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
• Acknowledge that that this is a problem that researchers are still working on finding better cures for AND that you have great hope
• Give me feedback about the way I am asking you for help
• Know that I am telling you about my suicide ideation/plans because I want to live, I want help, and I want to work together
• I may be paying very close attention to how you respond to what I say, and telling you more or less based on how open I think you are to hearing it and how much I trust you
What Suicidal People Want -from Team Now Matters Now
©NowMattersNow.org 2016 Dr. Ursula Whiteside
CHRONICALLY SUICIDAL PATIENT: From Team SPR
•Be fully present with me•Help me hold my pain (feel less alone in my pain)• I feel helpless, broken, and scared•Please be aware if you are afraid and acknowledge it •Be transparent about what you are thinking and feeling (but
communicate in nonjudgmental and non-defensive way)• I may try to manage your emotions for you•Discuss with me my diagnosis, as it is in the charts and go
through the DSM criteria with me