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Psychological Crisis & Suicide Prevention

A practice primer on crisis work and suicide prevention: risk assessment by direct enquiry, risk and protective factors, safety planning, evidence-based prevention, referral and confidentiality limits, postvention, and China's crisis services.

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Asking directly and without judgement about suicide and self-harm is part of professional assessment, not encouragement — naming the risk is what makes protection possible.
The professional will assess severity, immediate safety and available resources, then build a safety plan and agree on support and follow-up.
High risk may involve restricting access to lethal means, more frequent contact, and referral to psychiatric care, a crisis centre, or admission.
Do not carry this alone: if you have thoughts of self-harm or suicide, contact the national hotline 12356, a psychiatric emergency department, 120/110, or someone you trust.
Family and friends: take any statement about wanting to die seriously — ask directly, do not judge, secure the environment, remove dangerous items, stay with the person and accompany them to care.

You need systematic risk assessment and stratification, clinical judgement, and skills in safety planning and risk communication.
You need to know local crisis resources, referral pathways, mandatory reporting duties and the limits of confidentiality — and to accept that you cannot do this alone.
High-risk cases require supervision or team involvement, timely referral, and disciplined record-keeping and follow-up.
From intervention to postvention, protect your own capacity: helpers need support and supervision too.

Psychological Crisis & Suicide Prevention — practice primer

This page is a Chinese-language practice primer. The outline below summarises it in English. In an emergency, contact the national psychological assistance hotline 12356, a psychiatric emergency department, or 120/110.

Why it matters

Crisis means demands exceeding a person's coping capacity; suicide sits on a continuum from ideation to plan to attempt. Prevention is layered: universal, selective and indicated.

Core framework

Ask directly about self-harm and suicide; assess risk and protective factors, means access and hopelessness; use C-SSRS, ASQ, PHQ-9 item 9 and safety planning; stratify into low, moderate and high risk with matching dispositions.

Assessment and decisions

Five immediate steps, the six-part safety plan, evidence-based measures (means restriction, safety planning plus follow-up, suicide-specific treatments such as CAMS and DBT, screening, post-discharge contact, responsible media reporting), referral pathways and postvention.

China

The national hotline 12356 launched nationwide from May 2025, the Mental Health Law, campus and community screening, stigma, and the division of labour between medical and non-medical practitioners.

FAQs and appendices

Whether asking about suicide induces it, whether talk is 'just talk', and what to do about a friend's farewell post; risk-versus-protective-factor table, warning signs and self-check list.