Ethical Decision-Making in Suicide Risk Assessment: A Trauma-Informed Framework

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CE Course Description

In 2024, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death for people of all ages, claiming close to 50,000 lives. When looking beyond 2024 at suicide trends for the last twenty-five years, rates have been steadily increasing since 2001. However, since 2017, suicide rates have been mostly stable, though they peaked in 2022 and decreased slightly by 2024. Between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died by suicide every year since 2017, with certain disparities existing in these rates. In the U.S., social workers are the nation’s largest group of mental health service providers, making them an essential profession in suicide prevention. Since social workers are providing a significant amount of mental health services in the U.S., they must be skilled in suicide risk assessment, while considering the legal, ethical, and professional liabilities associated with navigating suicide risk. Multiple states are now requiring suicide risk assessment training. This training can help navigate complex ethical dilemmas when assessing and responding to suicide risk. This training integrates the National Association of Social Work’s (NASW) Code of Ethics with evidence‐based suicide prevention practices to help clinicians make ethically sound, trauma‐informed decisions in high‐risk situations. Participants will learn how to conduct a suicide risk assessment and identify ethical principles that are relevant to this area of practice. They will also learn trauma-informed, culturally responsive strategies for suicide risk assessment and how to navigate ethical dilemmas. In addition, they will learn how to document ethically defensible decisions. 

Author: Amy Colver, MSSA, MA, LISW

CE Course Objectives 

1. Identify ethical principles relevant to suicide risk assessment, including autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and professional integrity.
2. Apply the NASW Code of Ethics to real-world suicide‐related scenarios involving minors, adults, and vulnerable populations.
3. Demonstrate trauma‐informed, culturally responsive strategies for assessing suicide risk without causing harm or retraumatization.

Course Date: 2026-10-14

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