Suicide Risk Assessment: Acute vs Chronic Risk, Formulation, and Suicidal Ideation Types
Suicide Risk Assessment: Acute vs Chronic Risk, Formulation, and Suicidal Ideation Types  
Podcast: Psychofarm Podcast
Published On: Tue Jun 02 2026
Description: Suicide risk assessment is often taught like a checklist, but this episode argues that the real work is formulation. We talk about why history is only the starting point, how acute and chronic risk differ, and why suicidal ideation can mean very different things depending on context. We cover stress-related suicidality, intoxication, baseline recurrent thoughts, mood and psychotic disorders, OCD intrusive thoughts, hospitalization decisions, red flags, countertransference, and documentation. The result is a practical psychiatry conversation for clinicians and trainees who want to think more clearly about suicide risk without pretending they can predict the future. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit psychofarm.substack.com