The Suicide Assessment Kit (SAK) is a comprehensive assessment and policy development package, designed to assist alcohol and other drug services in the assessment and management of suicide risk. The SAK was developed by NDARC in partnership with the Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (NADA), in response to a need identified as a result of interviewing staff and managers of residential rehabilitation services nationally (Ross et al, 2012).
The SAK contains three key resources:
1) the Suicide Risk Screener
2) the Suicide Risk Formulation Template, and
3) the Suicide Policies and Procedures Pro-forma.
How to use the SAK
It is recommended that managers begin by reviewing their policies and procedures using the Policies and Procedures Pro-Forma as a guide. This will ensure that appropriate policies are in place to support staff using the Suicide Risk Screener, Risk Formulation Template and supporting documents.
The three videos below will give you an introduction to the Suicide Assessment Kit, role-plays demonstrating the use of the Suicide Risk Screener and feedback we have received from treatment providers about the process of integrating the SAK into their service.
Downloads
Correction: If you downloaded the SAK or screener prior to 9 September 2015, there was a typesetting error on the front page of the screener. Question 6 is not a flagged item and should not be shaded red.
The development of the Suicide Risk Assessment Kit was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.
