STEPS: Steps To Evaluate Progression of Suicidality

In this course, Dr. Manaan Kar Ray (Ph.D., Director for the Division of Adult Mental Health at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Associate Professor, Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention at Queensland University) offers you what he calls a “whistle-stop tour” of the STEPS Model for suicide prevention. The model is part of the ASSESS module of his book on the same topic. Citing evidence to show the effectiveness of the model in working with suicidal presentations, Dr. Kar Ray explains the steps with an emphasis on helping you gain a thorough understanding of the phenomenology of suicidality, and particularly, the Ideation to Action Framework. He discusses the interplay between static, stable, dynamic, and fluid risk factors and shows how we can “widen the gap” between ideation and action, ensuring that the client does not bridge from the former to the latter.