CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. The Nature and Scope of Suicide
2. Recognizing the Progressive Development of Suicide
3. Substance Abuse as a Major Contributor to Suicide
4. Suicide Across the Life Span
5. Special Populations and Suicide Risk
6. Prevention and Early Intervention for Suicide and Substance Abuse Problems

Supplements
References
Resources

Holding the Lifeline
A Guide to Suicide Prevention

Intervention Examples

Another evidence-based suicide prevention program, The Prevention of Suicide in Primary Care Elderly: Collaborative Trial (PROSPECT), is an intervention designed to help address depression among older adults. The intervention involves a case management approach by a depression care manager who works with the primary care physician and a supervising psychiatrist. The program targets the following risk and protective factors among older adults:

• Increasing effective clinical care for mental, physical, and substance abuse disorders
• Increasing easy access to a variety of clinical interventions
• Support for help seeking
• Decreasing barriers to accessing mental health and substance abuse treatment and healthcare for mental disorders.

An evaluation of the intervention at 4- and 8-month intervals found statistically significant reductions in suicidal ideation among older adults in the program compared to those receiving treatment-as-usual. ref

This course is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of suicide interventions. Nor does one intervention necessarily fit the needs of those at risk. As noted by the President's New Freedom Commission, no less than a transformation of the mental health system is needed to help get those with mental illnesses the help they need. This transformation will involve finding ways to create a good "fit" for treatment among individuals with a range of mental illnesses.

The Federal Government is in the pocess of creating an Action Alliance to coordinate implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP).