Reducing Suicide, Reducing Workloads, and Reducing Liability Helping Save Lives Using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scales (CSSRS): Reducing Suicide, Reducing Workloads, and Reducing Liability The Columbia Protocol, also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), supports suicide risk assessment through a series of simple, plain-language questions that anyone can ask. The answers help users identify whether someone is at risk for suicide, assess the severity and immediacy of that risk, and gauge the level of support that the person needs. Users of the tool ask people: • Whether and when they have thought about suicide (ideation) • What