Att göra bedömningar på liv och död” – Kuratorns erfarenhet av arbetet med självmordsbenägna patienter

Sammanfattning: Social workers have an increased risk to meet suicidal people during their career especially if they are working in the field of psychiatry. The main purpose with this study was to examine and understand how social workers in the psychiatry field define their role in the interaction with suicidal patients. To answer my questions I have interviewed five social workers that currently work in psychiatry in different cities. The result from this study demonstrates that social worker´s experience difficulties with judgment of patients’ suicidal risk because they explained the judgment is a matter of life and death. The social workers felt unsure in their role as a social worker in the situation with suicidal patients. Social workers found most struggle with patients who suffers from personal disorder because they can´t rely on the impulsiveness of the patient. The result also demonstrates that the responsibility of patient who are suicidal also affect social workers on a personal level. Social workers described their role in the situation with suicidal patient as “ a social worker who help the patients social problems” and as “ a therapist who will help the patient to struggle with suicidal thought”. The lack of education about suicidal patient is also a problem the social workers underlined. In the situation with suicidal patients the social workers emphasized the teamwork with other professions and supervision.