In the care plan for an adolescent with suspected eating disorder, which action is essential to address immediate safety?

• A. Individual psychotherapy
• B. Fluoxetine
• C. Suicide assessment
• D. Family psychotherapy

Answer: (C)

The immediate safety concern in an adolescent with suspected eating disorder is assessing suicide risk. A structured suicide assessment quickly identifies whether there is thoughts of harming oneself, an intent, a plan, or means, and how solid the risk is. This information guides the level of care needed right away—whether the patient can be safely managed on an outpatient basis, needs increased supervision, or requires hospitalization for safety.

A thorough suicide assessment also considers mood symptoms, past attempts, substance use, and protective factors like family support or coping skills. If the risk is high, safety steps are taken immediately, such as ensuring supervision and potentially admitting the patient to a higher level of care to prevent harm. While individual or family psychotherapy and medications play important roles in treating eating disorders over time, they do not address the urgent safety issue as directly as a focused suicide assessment.