Useful information about suicide awareness and suicide prevention

Useful information about suicide awareness and suicide prevention

Note: The links are provided as a convenience only and should not be taken as an endorsement of any website, content, product or service. Visits to linked websites are at your own risk.

www.metanoia.org: asks and answers the question, "What can I do to help someone who may be suicidal?"

www.helpguide.org: empowers you to make educated health and lifestyle choices to prevent illness and improve your health. This non-profit resource provides over 150 articles reviewed by recognized professionals. This site also covers suicide prevention and what you can do to help.

If you would like to know more about the risk factors and warning signs associated with suicide, please read the leaflet ‘Concerned About Suicide’ which is on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) website.

Suicide awareness and suicide prevention training

www.livingworks.net: suicide awareness and prevention training. Why not have a look through this website to see if training is available in your area?

What To Do

Here are some ways to be helpful to someone who is threatening suicide:

• Be direct. Talk openly and matter-of-factly about suicide.
• Be willing to listen. Allow expressions of feelings. Accept the feelings.
• Be non-judgmental. Don't debate whether suicide is right or wrong, or feelings are good or bad. Don't lecture on the value of life.
• Get involved. Become available. Show interest and support.
• Don't dare him or her to do it.
• Don't act shocked. This will put distance between you.
• Don't be sworn to secrecy. Seek support.
• Offer hope that alternatives are available but do not offer glib reassurance.
• Take action. Remove means, such as guns or stockpiled pills.
• Get help from persons or agencies specializing in crisis intervention and suicide prevention.

Treatment for Suicidal Teens

Treatment for suicidal teens is possible to come by, if you look in the right places and take the proper steps. Learn what to consider when seeking treatment for a suicidal teen, what is involved in suicidal treatment for teens, and options for treating a suicidal teenager.

The teen years are a confusing time, fraught with questions, problems and intense feeling. Sometimes, and often through a combination of factors, feelings arise that include teen suicide. It is not unusual for teens to have some thoughts of dying. However, such thoughts can be problematic if a teenager begins to feel and express them frequently. Addressing these feelings as early as possible is important in preventing an actual teen suicide.

Factors taken into account when developing treatment for suicidal teens

When a teen feels suicidal, there are certain factors that a physician and/or mental health professional will take into account when helping to develop a suicide treatment plan. Here are some of things to be taken into consideration when developing treatment for suicidal teens:

• The extent of a teenager’s suicidal symptoms
• The overall medical history and health of a suicidal teen
• Tolerance the teenager has with regard to procedures, medications and therapies
• The seriousness of any suicide attempt or warnings by a teen
• Impressions of the risk for teen suicide at a later time
• The opinion of the parent, as well as the teen, regarding treatment preferences

Treatment for suicidal teens is created on an individual basis. Each teenager requires his or her own evaluation and a tailored treatment plan designed to specifically work with his or her needs.

What goes into treatment for suicidal teens that have attempted suicide

There are several things that go into treatment for suicidal teens. Initially, after a suicide attempt has been made, a physical examination and evaluation is necessary. Physical treatment is a necessary part of suicide treatment for a teenager because he or she is in danger of harming him or herself until stability is achieved. The mental health portion of treatment for suicidal teens includes an evaluation of the teenager’s life leading up to the suicide attempt, as well as an evaluation of the family and home situation. These factors are important parts of determining the teen’s individual needs, as well as figuring out which treatment options would work best with the teenager’s situation.

Possible options regarding treatment for suicidal teens

When a teen needs treatment for suicidal thoughts or a suicide attempt, there are a few options that can be incorporated into the treatment. Here are three of the more common options:

Individual therapy. This is suicide treatment that involves therapy just for the teenager to help him or her work through feelings and suicidal thoughts.

Family therapy. Sometimes family therapy works best in instances of teen suicide treatment. This can provide a supportive environment for the teenager, as well as help the family learn how to cope with the problem and work together.

Hospitalization. In some cases, it is necessary to provide a teenager with a secure, safe and constantly supervised environment. Most in-patient suicide treatment includes therapeutic aspects, and offers the kind of supervision that might be necessary in extreme cases.