Have you ever had thoughts like this before?
Have you ever tried to harm yourself? How?
How many times have you tried?
Who do you know that has attempted or committed suicide?
If you were to try to take your own life, have you thought about how you would do it?
Do you have access to such a method?
Where would you do it?
Are you currently taking any medication or using any drugs or alcohol?
Are there guns in your house? Can you access the weapons?
The most important question to me would be the access to any weapons in the home or within the client’s reach period. It would let me know that if these thoughts become greater than they are at the moment, do they have the means to make it happen, this will help me assess their risk and what the best intervention would be for the client. I would want the client to answer this question honestly because it means the difference between me allowing them to go home and potential harm themselves because there is already weapon in the home or pills in the medicine cabinet, the client would then be placed in hospitalization.
Adolescents are at a higher risk for SMB because of bad feelings, to feel something even if it is pain, to punish themselves, to feel relaxed, and to give themselves something to do when they are alone. Some interventions can include helping the client improve their emotional regulation and learn behavioral ways to channel relaxation and become functional in the world.
Developmental crises is normal transitional stages that often trigger crisis states, which all people pass through while growing through the life span. In other words, developmental crises are normal, transitional phases that are expected as people move from one stage of life to another. They take years to develop and require adjustments from the family as members take on new roles. The adolescent’s stage is very intriguing to me because we were all adolescents at some point and we went through phases that our parents had to find ways to get through them with us. Adolescents face issues when parents give them too much freedom and sets little to no boundaries. The adolescent then becomes out of control and a child in-need, I would introduce them to therapy and youth programs as well as educate both the adolescent and the parents on the importance of boundaries and how they benefit both parties so that they can function as a family. I myself encounter this exact same issue because my mother was on drugs and I was the oldest child, I took all of her duties, and it forced me to grow up early. When I went to live with my grandmother I became very defiant against her rules because I had never really had any boundaries. All it took was for her to stick to the importance of them and I eventually came around but not all cases are that simple.