Deep Dive: Suicide Crisis Syndrome

Suicide Crisis Syndrome is a diagnosis without a home. Despite considerable research indicating it is distinct from depressive disorders, it has not yet been recognized in the Bible of psychiatrists and psychologists, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-5-TR.

I’m not a licensed mental health practitioner. In the course of my work as a hospital chaplain, though, I’ve done many, many suicide screenings, presentations, and trainings. I’m not qualified to do suicide assessments.

My preferred method of hospital suicide screening for many years was the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. It is simple to use, can be administered by laypeople with minimal training, and it’s public-domain.

As I continued to consider suicide screening assessment methodology, the diagnosis of the Suicide Crisis Syndrome captured my attention. Sometimes, it’s the circumstances (i.e. feeling trapped, social isolation, cognitive judgement impairment, and hyperarousal) trigger thoughts of self-harm seemingly separate from depression. This isn’t always apparent on questioning. One of the other features of SCS screening is the value it places on the relationship between the screened and the screener.