A suicide prevention contract is a
contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
that contains an agreement not to die by
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
. It was historically used by health professionals dealing with depressive clients. Typically, the client was asked to agree to talk with the professional prior to carrying out any decision to die by suicide. Suicide prevention contracts have been shown not to be effective and have risk of harm. Suicide prevention contracts were once a "widely used but overvalued clinical and risk-management technique." Indeed, it has been argued that such contracts "may in fact increase danger by providing psychiatrists with a false sense of security, thus decreasing their clinical vigilance." It has also been argued that such contracts can anger or inhibit the client and introduce coercion into therapy.
See also
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Suicide pact
A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed.
General considerations
Suicide pacts are an important concept in the study of suicide, and h ...
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Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...
References
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Suicide prevention