Suicide screening in medical settings screening for suicidality in medical settings: a review of best practices the culturally-grounded interpersonal model for suicide assessment

Tomi Winters
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:43:26 PDT

Suicide assessment training is essential for medical providers because patients are more likely to present at medical clinics than behavioral health clinics when suffering from suicidal ideation (Ahmedani et al., 2014; Luoma, Martin, & Pearson, 2002), and the range in symptom presentation complicates suicide screening (Ghasemi, Shaghaghi, & Allahverdipour, 2015; Giddens, Sheehan, & Sheehan, 2014). Using a survey from the Fairbanks Wellness Coalition (Goldstream Group Incorporated, 2017), a literature review, and three phases of evaluation from prior presentations, this webinar project supports the training needs of medical providers in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The results from the literature review and feedback from the presentations created the content for the training. Combining suicide risk measurements with clinical judgment is best practice when assessing patients for suicide risk (Bouch & Marshall, 2005; Chung & Jelic, 2015). Use of the C-SSRS and improving clinical judgment with the Culturally-Grounded Interpersonal model for Suicide Assessment (C-GIMS) may improve results. C-GIMS incorporates new findings in the literature after the C-SSRS was created while addressing the need for perspective-taking and cultural attunement for improved clinical judgment. The purpose of this project was to train medical providers to improve screening for suicide risk in medical settings.