Health care providers can play a critical role in suicide prevention. Most people who take their life signal their intention to do so before they act; and these signals are often displayed to their doctors. In the United States, primary care is many times a patient's only source for mental health treatment. Approximately 70% of primary care medical visits are for psychological issues.
To order any of the Health Care Provider resources and materials listed below, please complete the Health Care Providers Materials Request Form .
Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Primary Care Providers
A web-based toolkit that contains the information and tools needed to implement state-of-the-art
suicide prevention practices in primary care settings. This resource offers the support necessary to establish the primary care provider as one member of a
team, fully equipped to reduce suicide risk among their patients. The Toolkit includes sections on educating clinicians and office staff and developing
mental health partnerships, as well as patient management tools and patient education tools.
Hard copies of the tool kit are available free of charge from DPHP. If you would like a copy please complete the Health Care Providers Materials Request Form .
Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk in Primary Care
RRSR-PC is a 90 minute training that provides physicians, nurses/nurse practitioners, and physician assistants with the knowledge they need in order to
integrate suicide risk assessments into routine office visits, to formulate relative risk, and to work collaboratively with patients to create treatment
plans.
An archived version of an August 19, 2010 training webinar of this training is now available. Click here to view the training and to download training handouts.
Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T)
This pocket card for mental health clinicians and health care professionals provides protocols for conducting a comprehensive suicide assessment,
estimating suicide risk, identifying protective factors, and developing treatment plans and interventions responsive to the risk level of patients. PDF
versions of the card are available online at no charge by clicking here. Laminated SAFE-T cards are
available from SAMHSA for free at http://www.store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA09-4432.
Lethal Means Counseling: Recommendations for Clinicians
Many suicide attempts are made impulsively during a short-term crisis period. If highly lethal means are made less available to impulsive attempters and
they substitute less lethal means, or temporarily postpone their attempt, the odds are increased that they will survive. DPHP provides a free brochure for
primary care providers on how to provide lethal means counseling to clients and their family/loved ones. A PDF version is available to download for free by clicking here.
PROSPECT
PROSPECT (Prevention of Suicide in Primary Care Elderly: Collaborative Trial) aims to prevent suicide among older primary care patients by reducing
suicidal ideation and depression. The intervention components are: (1) recognition of depression and suicide ideation by primary care physicians, (2)
application of a treatment algorithm for geriatric depression in the primary care setting, and (3) treatment management by health specialists (e.g.,
nurses, social workers, and psychologists). To learn more about this trail, visit the following link, http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=128.
"Is Your Patient Suicidal?" Emergency Department Poster and Clinical Guide
The "Is Your Patient Suicidal?" Emergency Department Poster and Clinical Guide provide emergency department personnel with information on
recognizing and responding to acute suicide risk. The accompanying guide, Suicide Risk: A Guide for ED Evaluation and Triage, provides additional
clinical guidance for ED personnel.
After an Attempt Brochures
Below are brochures regarding treatment and follow-up for those seen in an emergency department after a suicide attempt.
Emergency Department Means Restriction Education
Emergency Department Means Restriction Education is an intervention for the adult caregivers of youth (aged 6 to 19 years) who are seen in an emergency
department (ED) and determined through a mental health assessment to be at risk for committing suicide. ED Means Restriction Education is designed to help
parents and adult caregivers of at-risk youth recognize the importance of taking immediate, new action to restrict access to firearms, alcohol, and
prescription and over-the-counter drugs in the home. For more information on this educational program, click here.
Emergency Room Intervention for Adolescent Females
Emergency Room Intervention for Adolescent Females is a program for teenage girls 12 to 18 years old who are admitted to the emergency room after
attempting suicide. The intervention, which involves the girl and one or more family members who accompany her to the emergency room, aims to increase
attendance in outpatient treatment following discharge from the emergency room and to reduce future suicide attempts. For more information on this
educational program, click here.