Forensic psychology professionals working in clinical forensic settings such as state hospitals or prisons often are tasked with assessing whether a patient may be at significant risk for committing suicide. If a person is assessed to be suicidal, then involuntary hospitalization of the patient likely will follow. However, in the United States where the right to life and liberty are protected by the Constitution, to deprive a person of his or her liberty requires extraordinary circumstances. State statutes vary in their language regarding involuntary psychiatric hospitalization, but the underlying threshold common to all such statutes is when someone is eminently dangerous to self or others. One type of research of use to forensic psychology professionals working in clinical settings is that which studies the potential risk for suicide.
