Do You See What I See? Patient and Clinician Perceptions of Underlying Dimensions of Suicidality

The clinical suicidology literature strongly emphasizes the importance of risk assessment. However, limited empirical data are available about the assessment process. The present study investigated the ways in which clinicians and patients perceive several theoretical dimensions related to suicide: psychological pain, external pressures/stressors, agitation/emotional upsetness, self-regard, and hopelessness. Data from the current sample suggest that clinicians and parasuicidal patients independently perceived most of these dimensions similarly, with the exception of agitation/emotional upsetness (perturbation). The implications of these findings are discussed.