Assessing risk for completed suicide in patients with alcohol dependence: Clinicians' views of critical factors.

The assessment of potential for suicide among patients with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence has consistently been a dilemma for clinicians. Specifically, a problem for both clinicians and researchers has been determining what risk factors distinguish patients with suicidal ideation from those that are in danger of completed suicide. Identifying what clinicians who specialize in substance abuse view as critical in the assessment and treatment of suicidal patients is a first step in gaining a greater understanding of suicide risk within an alcoholic population. The views of these clinicians are presented and compared with empirical findings on the subject.