Prevalence of and Reactions to Fatal and Nonfatal Client Suicidal Behavior: A National Study of Mental Health Social Workers

Abstract

A majority of mental health social workers come in contact with suicidal clients during their career. As a result, social workers may experience high levels of stress that can ultimately impact their quality of and ability to practice. The present study examined the prevalence of fatal and nonfatal client suicidal behavior experienced by mental health social workers and examined their subsequent reactions. A random national sample of 697 mental health social workers from the NASW database was anonymously surveyed. Findings indicate that both fatal and nonfatal client suicidal behavior is not a rare occurrence for mental health social workers and that both types of behaviors relate to increased levels of subjective stress as measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES);. Implications of these findings are discussed.