Not at imminent risk: a systematic literature review

Background: Suicide is a pervasive and complex issue that can challenge counselors through the course of their careers. Research and practice focus heavily on crisis management and imminent risk rather than early intervention strategies. Early intervention strategies can assist counselors working with clients who have suicidal ideation, but are not at imminent risk, or with clients whose risk factors identify them as having a stronger trajectory for suicidal ideation.

Aims: This systematic literature review examines the current literature on working with clients with suicidal ideation who are not at imminent risk, to ascertain the types of information and strategies available to counselors working with this client group.

Method: An initial 622 articles were identified for analysis and from these 24 were included in the final review, which was synthesized using a narrative approach.

Results: Results indicate that research into early intervention strategies is extremely limited.

Conclusion: It was possible to describe emergent themes and practice guidelines to assist counselors working with clients with suicidal ideation but not at imminent risk.