Self-Determination Theory And The Collaborative Assessment And Management Of Suicidality

PurposeThe collaborative assessment and management of suicidality (CAMS) is a first-encounter suicide-specific brief intervention that motivates suicidal individuals for voluntary treatment engagement and choosing life. How the intervention works, however, has not been theoretically explained. The purpose of this paper is to explain the effectiveness using self-determination theory (SDT).Design/methodology/approachThe paper focuses the theoretical examination on the philosophy of care and the clinical procedures of the CAMS suicide intervention. SDT is used as the theoretical lens of the examination.FindingsThe underlying philosophy of care and the clinical procedures of CAMS enhance the autonomy, relatedness and competence of the client in the first encounter. The paper proposes that fulfilling these basic human needs results in the intervention outcomes of treatment engagement and choosing life for the time being.Originality/valueCAMS has not previously been theoretically explained. This paper explains the effectiveness of the intervention in engaging suicidal clients in further treatment through SDT.