Is Path Warm

Introduction
IS PATH WARM is an acronym that is utilized as a mnemonic device created by the American Association of Suicidology. This mnemonic assist counselors and the general public to remember the warning signs for suicide. The acronym is outlined below:
I = Ideation
S = Substance Use
P = Purposelessness
A = Anxiety
T = Trapped
H = Hopelessness
W = Withdrawal
A = Anger
R = Recklessness
M = Mood Change
The acronym was developed in 2003 by a group of suicidologists as an evidence-based set of near-term signs of immediate suicide intent and risk. Juhnke, Granello, and Lebron-Striker (2007) posit that suicide is the 11th leading cause of death among Americans, there was a need to have a method for identifying the risk factors of suicide and methodologies that counselors could use to help reduce the rates of suicide. This acronym can also be used by other individuals to determine if an individual is at risk of suicide.
Acronym Definition
Ideation is mainly concerned with whether the client is having any suicidal thoughts. Any client who is verbalizing thoughts of suicide is offering a clearly identifiable sign for the counselor to investigate (Whiston, 2012). Any suicidal thought should be investigated even when the client indicates the thoughts might be minor. This is because a majority of the people who are contemplating suicide want to end their pain they see suicide as the only viable option. Substance use might have various definitions, but the counselor should only be concerned with substance use if it is having negative effects on the client's life. Although substance abuse is not a strong predictor of suicide when compared to the other predictors, it does contribute to suicide attempts. Therefore, it should be something that counselors should monitor. Substance abuse can cloud an individual’s judgment and contribute to ideation of suicide.
Purposeless refers to the lack or losing purpose in life. When a client does not see any reason or purpose for continued living then the counselor should be overly concerned. A majority of people who commit suicide have lost purpose in life and they would rather commit suicide than continue living without any purpose. Anxiety should not be the only thing that the counselor looks out for. They should also be on the lookout for mental disorders or psychological vulnerabilities. Anxiety is also related to being unable to sleep or the client is sleeping all the time. Trapped refers to the feeling of there being no other alternative. A majority of clients will see suicide as the only alternative left because they feel trapped in their current situation. The client will like suicide is the only way out of this situation. Hopelessness is the feeling of negativity with oneself. A client who does not see any hope in the future would be considered to be hopeless and they are more likely to commit suicide in order to escape from this reality.
According to Whiston (2012) withdrawing refers to the pulling away from friends and family. This should be a concern for the counselor because people who are contemplating suicide will withdraw from family and friends in order to reduce the painful interaction and reduce the possibility of them considering the impact that suicide will have on their family and friends. Anger is a predictor for suicide as clients would become more hostile or violent. The client might also be seeking revenge against others whom they feel might have wronged them. Anger also makes one be reckless as they feel they have lost everything and they have nothing else to lose. Recklessness will be demonstrated by the client engaging in risky activities without thinking of the potential consequences (Juhnke et al., 2007). Mood changes can be dramatic and a client with these dramatic mode changes might be at risk of suicide. Sometimes the client might have positive mood changes because they have analyzed their situation and they have seen relief in ending their pain by committing suicide.


References
Juhnke, G., Granello, P., & Lebron-Striker, M. (2007). IS PATH WARM? A suicide assessment mnemonic for counselors. Professional Counseling Digest, 3.
Whiston, S. C. (2012). Principles and applications of assessment in counseling (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.