Zero Suicide Resources for Professionals
Clinician Survivors and Loss
- Resources for Clinicians who have Lost a Patient and/or Family Member to Suicide – American Association of Suicidology
Corrections
- Suicide Prevention Resources for Adult Corrections
- The Role of Adult Correctional Officers in Preventing Suicide
Emergency Care
- Emergency Room: Is Your Patient Suicidal? Signs of Suicide Risk
- Caring for Adult Patients with Suicide Risk: A Consensus Guide for Emergency Departments (ED suicide prevention guide)
- How Emergency Departments Can Help Prevent Suicide among At-Risk Patients: Five Brief Interventions (brief video)
- Suicide Prevention in an Emergency Department Population: The ED-SAFE Study (JAMA article)
First Nations
- Zero Suicide Outcome Story: Chickasaw Nation Departments of Health and Family Services (case example)
Inpatient Care
- SPRC has announced a NEW – INPATIENT Organizational Self-study (OSS) designed for organizations with a primary focus on inpatient health and behavioral health care settings. These may include more intensive levels of care such as partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs if those are managed under an inpatient organizational structure. This new tool was developed in partnership with UHS (Universal Health Services).
- Best Practices in Care Transitions for Individuals with Suicide Risk: Inpatient Care to Outpatient Care. – The transition from inpatient to outpatient behavioral health care is a critical time for patients with a history of suicide risk. These best practices have been developed to help health systems and providers close these gaps in care.
Lethal Means Restriction
- CALM: Counseling on Access to Lethal Means – Safety planning around lethal means is an imperative step. This two hour online webinar provides basic training in talking to clients and their families.
LGBTQ+
- Talking about suicide and lgbt populations https://www.sprc.org/sites/default/files/resource-program/talking-about-suicide-and-lgbt-populations-2nd-edition.pdf
National Resources
From the Suicide Prevention and Resource Center and the Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.*
The Zero Suicide Toolkit offers many resources and tools to support the implementation of Zero Suicide.
- What is Zero Suicide? – Brief overview of the Zero Suicide Framework.
- Quick Guide to Getting Started with Zero Suicide – One-page “quick start” guide from Suicide Prevention and Resource Center.
- Systematic Suicide Care (PowerPoint)
- Workshops and Toolkits — SPRC
Primary Care
- Primary Care Provider Curriculum: This five-part curriculum is designed to inform primary care professionals working in public mental health settings about the unique aspects of behavioral health settings, the people they serve, as well as the opportunities and roles that primary care professionals play in helping to improve the whole health of individuals with serious mental illnesses.
https://www.cmhnetwork.org/resources/show?id=788#sthash.1LV6zNhW.dpu - Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Primary Care: www.sprc.org/settings/primary-care/toolkit
Psychiatry Resources
- Psychiatry Guidelines for Working with Suicidal Patients — This practice guideline has been developed by psychiatrists who are in active clinical practice.
References:
- Article: “Compliance Standards Pave the Way for Reducing Suicide in Health Care Systems”, Julie Goldstein Grumet, Michael F. Hogan, Adam Chu, David W. Covington, Karen E. Johnson – Journal of Health Care Compliance, January-February 2019
- Suicide Care in Systems Framework – Report from the Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention: Clinical Care and Intervention Task Force on the importance of systemic changes and how to replicate existing models.
- The Way Forward: Pathways to Hope, Recovery and Wellness With Insights From Lived Experience – Including the lived experience of survivors and attempt survivors is essential to the Zero Suicide Framework. This report was prepared by the Suicide Attempt Survivors Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention in 2014.
- Article: Suicide prevention: An Emerging Priority for Health Care, Michael F. Hogan and Julie Goldstein Grumet, Health Affairs 35, no.6 (2016): 1084-1090
- CDC Recommendations for a Community Plan: Prevention and Containment of Suicide Clusters – These guidelines remain the current best practice guidelines for preventing and containing suicide clusters.
- Suicide Clusters within American Indian and Alaskan Native Communities (PDF) This publication from SAMHSA examines what is known about suicide clusters within American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations and uses that information to provide recommendations for stakeholders working to prevent and contain suicide clusters within AI/AN communities. Also available here: https://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA17-5050
Safety Planning Resources
- Safety Plan Template – Barbara Stanley, Ph.D. and Gregory K. Brown, Ph.D., developed the Safety Planning Intervention, and provide this template for clinicians.
- VA Safety Plan Quick Guide for Clinicians – This safety planning quick guide was created by the Department of Veterans Affairs and offers a small brochure outlining the steps.
SAMHSA Resources
- Mobile Resources to Support Behavioral Health: Download Free Apps from SAMHSA
- Promote positive behavioral health in your community. SAMHSA has resources that can help address some of the toughest mental health and substance use challenges, including suicide prevention, bullying prevention, behavioral health following a disaster, and underage drinking prevention.
- Suicide Safe helps health care providers integrate suicide prevention strategies into their practice and address suicide risk among their patients.
- KnowBullying provides information and guidance on ways to prevent bullying and build resilience in children. A great tool for parents and educators, KnowBullying is meant for kids ages 3 to 18.
- SAMHSA Disaster App provides responders with access to critical resources—like Psychological First Aid and Responder Self-Care—and SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator to help responders provide support to survivors after a disaster.
- Talk. They Hear You is an interactive game that can help parents and caregivers prepare for one of the more important conversations they may ever have with children—underage drinking.
Learn more and download SAMHSA’s free mobile apps here
Screening and Assessment Resources
These research-proven tools are strongly recommended in the Zero Suicide Framework for screening all patients and clients. The best practice is universal screening of every patient at every visit.
- Patient Health Questionnaire 2 – The standard, well-known two question form that can be completed in a waiting room to determine if further conversation about depression and/or suicide needs to happen.
- Patient Health Questionnaire 9 – The “next step” screen if the PHQ-2 indicates further conversation is advisable, with nine questions.
- Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale: Lifetime – Highly-regarded evidence-based tool for suicide assessment for the first time discussing the issue with a patient/client.
- Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale: Since Last Visit – This version of the C-SSRS takes into consideration the need for repeated screening for individuals with ongoing suicidality.
- Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
- Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality in an Inpatient Setting: Results of a Pilot Study
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder – 7 Item Scale – Seven question screen focusing on anxiety.
Substance Misuse
- Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Self-Report Version – Adapted from the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.
- Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test-Geriatric Version – This screen was developed because older adults may show signs of drinking problems that are different than other age ranges.
Suicide Specific Treatment Resources
- Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
- Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality in an Inpatient Setting: Results of a Pilot Study
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT)
Websites
- Suicide Prevention Resource Center:
www.sprc.org - High School Toolkit:
www.sprc.org/content/high-school-toolkit - Role of the Media in Preventing Suicide:
www.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/library/media_guide.pdf - National Recommendations for Depicting Suicide: The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance) has released the first-ever National Recommendations for Depicting Suicide (SuicideInScripts.org) in entertainment content, in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC). Representatives from the entertainment industry and suicide prevention field provided input on the recommendations, which advances goal four of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
- Primary Care Provider Curriculum: This five-part curriculum is designed to inform primary care professionals working in public mental health settings about the unique aspects of behavioral health settings, the people they serve, as well as the opportunities and roles that primary care professionals play in helping to improve the whole health of individuals with serious mental illnesses.
https://www.cmhnetwork.org/resources/show?id=788#sthash.1LV6zNhW.dpu - Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Primary Care: www.sprc.org/settings/primary-care/toolkit
- Workshops and Toolkits:
www.sprc.org/training-institute/workshops-and-toolkits - The Injury Control Research Center for Suicide Prevention (ICRC-S): A collaboration of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the Education Development Center (EDC) – both organizations have extensive experience in addressing suicide and suicide prevention. suicideprevention-icrc-s.org
- Workplace Wellness: An Employer’s Guide to Policy Approaches to Address Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco, Mental Health, Suicide, and Chronic Disease – Wyoming Department of Health
- Clinicians as Survivors: After a Suicide Loss: Resources for Clinicians who have Lost a Patient and/or Family Member to Suicide – This site provides resources and information for therapists as survivors of suicide
Workplace
- Workplace Wellness Toolkit: An Employer’s Guide to Policy Approaches to Address Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco, Mental Health, Suicide, and Chronic Disease – Wyoming Department of Health
