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Suicide Prevention Resource Center

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) provides prevention support, training, and resources to assist organizations and individuals to develop suicide prevention programs, interventions and policies, and to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has become the nation’s voice on mental illness, a national organization including NAMI organizations in every state and in over 1100 local communities across the country who join together to meet the NAMI mission through advocacy, research, support, and education.

Suicide: Taking Care of Yourself After an Attempt Consumer Guide (English) (PDF)

Suicide: Taking Care of Yourself After an Attempt Consumer Guide (Spanish) (PDF)

Suicide: Taking Care of Yourself & Your Family After an Attempt Family Guide (English) (PDF)

Suicide: Taking Care of Yourself & Your Family After an Attempt Family Guide (Spanish) (PDF)

Suicide: Helping Patients and Their Families After an Attempt Providers Guide (PDF)

Order printed copies of the brochures from SAMHSA’s Mental Health Information Center

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The National Alliance on Mental Illness

Helping Patients, Their Families, and Healthcare Providers after a Suicide Attempt

When someone has attempted suicide, they and their loved ones need assistance coping, recovering, and moving forward after treatment in an emergency department (ED). ED physicians often also need information and resources in order to provide the best care possible for these patients. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) in HHD has created three brochures to help with the healing process.

Annual Suicide Data in U.S.

Number of emergency department visits in 2004 for self-inflicted injury: 535,000*

Annual deaths due to suicide in 2004: 32,439**

*Source: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2004 Emergency Department Summary, table 13 (PDF)
**Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistics Reports

The series of psycho-educational booklets, called After an Attempt, are now available in PDF format from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The brochures were developed by the SPRC and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The emergency department is often the initial point of entry into the medical system for those who attempt suicide. These brochures take advantage of this unique opportunity to provide support and information on recovery. Each After an Attempt brochure is designed to be distributed at the hospital ED to inform and assist three different audiences:

the person who has survived their attempt (in English and Spanish),
their family and friends (in English and Spanish), and
ED physicians who are treating them

“In addition to providing encouragement, helpful information, and resources about mental health and suicide, the brochures empower the patients, their loved ones, and health care providers by providing them with appropriate discharge and aftercare information,” says Anara Guard, Associate Director of the SPRC.

Thankfully, most people who attempt suicide go on to lead healthy, productive lives, but the recovery process can be long and difficult. The consumer and family versions of the brochures provide patients and those close to them with action items to move forward, including creating a safety plan and building a support network. The guides also provide these audiences with contact resources for more information on suicide, recovery, and coping with subsequent suicidal feelings.

The provider brochure offers tips on enhancing care in the ED for those who have attempted suicide, information on patient discharge and federal patient privacy standards, and resources for medical professionals, patients, and their families. Moreover, the brochure encourages ED doctors to create a well-conceived discharge plan to help patients to safely and successfully recover, and includes concrete action steps for making this happen.

In addition to the critical information and many resources offered, all of the After an Attempt brochures offer a message of support and hope, emphasizing that it is possible to not only survive but to thrive after a suicide attempt.

For more information on the SPRC or the After an Attempt brochures, please contact Anara Guard at aguard@edc.org or 617-618-2572.

December 29, 2006


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