Validation of the SIMPLE STEPS Model of Suicide Assessmentby Jason McGlothlin; Betsy Page; Kelsey JagerVolume 38, Issue 04 - October 2016 The SIMPLE STEPS (McGlothlin, 2008) model of suicide assessment provides clinicians with a comprehensive mnemonic framework for assessing suicide lethality. It provides a broader context to assess suicide compared to other mnemonic devices with similar intent (i.e., PLAID, PIMP, IS PATH WARM, etc.) In this article, six years of data (N = 13,423 records of individual callers to a suicide prevention hotline) were analyzed. Via regression analysis, the researchers examined the relationship of the SIMPLE STEPS variables to caller's suicide lethality. It was found that all variables of the SIMPLE STEPS model predicted suicide lethality. Furthermore, this article depicts one of the few evidence-based studies for using a mnemonic device in practice. The results of this study have implications for the general practice of assessing suicidal clients with mnemonic devices and the general treatment of suicidal clients.
Article is free for AMHCA members:
For AMHCA members to access the journal they must first go to AMHCA.org and log in to the website with their username and password. Once they have logged in, they will click on “Journal of Mental Health Counseling” under the “Publications” tab. From there they will click on the “ Member Access” icon.
Non-AMHCA members will need to purchase the article:Articles are available to non-members for $25.
AMHCA will provide 0.5 CE for reading and completing the accompanying quiz with a passing grade (80% or higher). American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) has been approved to provide continuing education by the National Board for Certified Counselors and the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board. All sales are final - home study registrations are non-refundable.