Clinicians’ experience of collaboration in the treatment of suicidal clients within the collaborative assessment and management of suicidality framework

Introduction: There is little known about the clinicians’ experience of collaboration using the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide (CAMS) frame work. This study aimed to give voice to the clinician experience. Method: A qualitative design utilised semi-structured interviews with ten psychologists who worked in a Suicide Assessment and Treatment Service (SATS) in Ireland which utilises the CAMS framework. Results: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach revealed several important findings. The superordinate themes included ‘Finding Safety’, ‘Regulation of the Self’, ‘Connecting’, and ‘Systemic Challenges’. Discussion: The CAMS framework plays an important role in providing a safe base for the clinician (in terms of understanding suicidality, in addition to the structures of the framework). It provides a mechanism in which to process difficult emotions, and a way of communicating a formulation of suicide to the treating team. Importantly, the CAMS emerged as facilitating a collaborative, therapeutic way of working.