PROTECT guidebook
The PROTECT guidebook, authored by Dr Manaan Kar Ray, is a comprehensive clinical manual for suicide prevention that centres on a relational‑safety framework called PROTECT (PROactive deTECTion). It weaves a personal narrative of family loss with a review of evidence and then presents three operational modules – CORE, ASSESS, and ASPIRE – that guide clinicians, gate‑keepers and services through risk formulation, safety planning and recovery‑oriented action. The guide introduces a layered cognitive‑emotional model (Core Beliefs, Assumptions, Thoughts, Feelings, Actions) illustrated with onion‑style diagrams, and a novel “Emotional‑Energy Cell” that treats emotional resources like a finite bank. It details the HOPE brief intervention (Help‑Harm, Open to values, People & pursuits, Enact & evaluate) rooted in ACT, providing values‑clarification worksheets, action‑appraisal flowcharts, Bull’s‑Eye and time‑capsule exercises to align goals with personal values. Practical tools such as the Care Compass risk‑vs‑recovery quadrant, safety‑planning scripts, and conversation simulations (money‑vs‑emotional‑energy analogies) are embedded throughout. The guide concludes with a synthesis of relational safety, risk‑recovery integration, and a bibliography of over 150 citations, positioning PROTECT as an evidence‑informed, recovery‑focused alternative to traditional risk‑assessment models for mental‑health professionals.
Topics
PROTECT Relational‑Safety Framework – Three Core Modules
An overview of the PROTECT model’s three sequential modules – CORE (identifying core beliefs and assumptions), ASSESS (risk formulation and safety planning), and ASPIRE (values‑guided recovery actions).