Suicides account for nearly 30,000 deaths annually in the United States and are the eleventh leading cause of death (National Center for Health Statistics 2000; National Institute of Mental Health 2004). Studies indicate that during the course of his or her career, a psychiatrist has a 50% chance of losing a patient to suicide (Chemtob et al. 1988). In a review of malpractice claims against psy...

Observed behaviour of a psychiatrist interacting with severely depressed patients during an interview was related to the course of depression during hospitalization. The behavioural structure of such interaction could be described by 6 factors for the patients and 7 factors for the psychiatrist. The study focuses on the psychiatrist's behaviour. The severity of depression and the level of the b...