How often should a counselor screen a client for suicide?

• A. At intake only
• B. Biweekly
• C. All the time; continuous process throughout all of counseling
• D. Only when risk is suspected

Answer: (C)

Ongoing suicide risk assessment is essential in counseling. Risk can change over time, and new stressors or shifts in the therapeutic relationship can reveal ideation or intent that wasn’t present or obvious earlier. Because of this, screening for suicide should be a continuous process throughout all of counseling, not a one-time event. By asking about suicidal thoughts at intake and then revisiting the topic regularly in sessions, and whenever new information or circumstances arise, clinicians can catch rising risk promptly and implement safety planning, crisis resources, and means-restriction measures as needed.

If screening happens only at intake, or only when danger is suspected, or only at a fixed interval like biweekly, important fluctuations in risk can be missed. A universal, ongoing approach helps protect clients and supports timely intervention.