Updated Suicide Prevention Core Competencies for Mental Health Professionals: Implications for Training, Research, and Practice

Suicide is a global public health concern. Training for mental health professionals (MHPs) is a common approach to ensuring sound clinical care for persons experiencing suicidality. This article proffers an updated set of suicide prevention core competencies for MHPs through a literature-driven process. First, we outline a stepwise model of suicide prevention training ranging from gatekeeper approaches to advanced suicide-specific assessment and intervention skills. We then review recent paradigm shifts in the suicide prevention literature: (a) emergence of ideation-to-action and fluidity theories; (b) shift to therapeutic prevention-focused risk assessment; (c) increased attention to cultural factors in suicide; and (d) advances in suicide-specific intervention. These trends in the suicide literature serve as a rationale to update the Core Competency Model (CCM) of Suicide Prevention, a training program intentionally designed to improve beginner-to-intermediate provider-focused (e.g., managing one's own suicide attitudes) and clinical (e.g., clinical documentation) skills. We outline changes to competency wording and training, providing a sample CCM training curriculum. The Suicide Competency Assessment Form (SCAF), a self- and observer-rated measure of skill acquisition, is revised to reflect the updated competencies. Finally, we provide recommendations for (a) future psychometric assessment of the revised SCAF (SCAF-R); (b) suicide prevention training, implementation, and evaluation; and (c) ways to extend suicide prevention core competencies beyond MHPs.