The Impact of Personal and Other Client Loss to Suicide on Psychology Students’ Confidence in Suicide Risk Assessment and Likelihood of Taking a Future Suicidal Client

OBJECTIVE: While research has examined the impact of losing a client to suicide among psychology professionals, its impact among psychology graduate student clinicians is still unknown. Students that experience client suicide loss are suggested to speak about the loss with others; however there is no research on the impact of hearing about other individuals' experiences with client suicide loss. This study examined the prevalence of personal and other exposure to client suicide loss, and their relationship with current confidence and future likelihood of working with individuals expressing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. METHOD: 166 psychology graduate students with client contact across the United States were recruited. Participants answered questions about whether they had lost a client to suicide or heard of another person losing a client to suicide, their confidence in working with individuals with suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and their likelihood of working with those individuals in the future. T-tests were run comparing those who experienced personal (or other) client suicide loss and those who had not on likelihood and confidence. RESULTS: Less than 2% of students reported personal client suicide loss. 47% of students had heard of another individual experiencing client suicide loss, and this was related to increased future likelihood of taking a suicidal client but not increased confidence. CONCLUSIONS: Further research into emotional impacts of client loss, program postvention, and disclosure of client suicide loss among students and faculty is warranted. There may be a positive benefit to hearing of other individuals' experience with client suicide loss.