We’re excited to join our friends and colleagues at the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) annual conference next week. If you’re planning to attend in person, check out our trainings, presentations, and posters, and stop by our booth to say hi. To connect online, follow #AAS24 on social media and tag us in your posts. See you there!
Resource Types: Brochure/Booklet
After an attempt guides for families, providers and those being treated in EDs
These three booklets provide guidance on what to expect and what to do during emergency department treatment and continuing care after a suicide attempt. Originally created by the National Alliance on Mental Illness in partnership with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, they were developed to help people after a suicide attempt, with each specifically geared toward 1) the person who has made an attempt, 2) their family members and 3) medical providers in the emergency department who provide care and treatment for suicide attempt survivors. In 2018 SAMHSA revised and updated the booklets.
The booklets are titled:
After an attempt: A guide for taking care of yourself after your treatment in the emergency department
After an attempt: A guide for taking care of your family member after treatment in the emergency department
After an attempt: A guide for medical providers in the emergency department taking care of suicide attempt survivors
After an attempt: A guide for taking care of yourself after your treatment in the emergency department
Originally developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness in partnership with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians, this 7-page brochure provides practical information regarding treatment and follow-up for those seen in a hospital emergency department after a suicide attempt. It was revised in 2018. The brochure addresses the following topics:
• What to expect the day of your attempt
• After the emergency department
• What if you don’t want to go to the hospital?
• Next steps: Moving ahead and coping with future thoughts of suicide
o Taking charge of your recovery
o Finding the treatment and support you need
• Resources including print materials, websites, apps and crisis lines
Objectives:
Those who read the brochure should:
1.Have increased awareness of the emotional reaction to suicide attempts.
2.Have increased awareness of emergency department procedures regarding discharge and follow-up care.
3.Have increased awareness of treatment aftercare that may decrease the likelihood of re-attempts.
Implementation Essentials:
•Brochures should be provided to emergency department staff for distribution along with the following National Suicide Prevention Lifeline brochures that address the needs of family members of those who attempt suicide and emergency department medical staff:
◦After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Your Family Member after Treatment in the Emergency Department.
◦After an Attempt: A Guide for Medical Providers in the Emergency Department Taking Care of Suicide Attempt Survivors
2012 NSSP Objectives Addressed:
Objective 8.4: Promote continuity of care and the safety and well-being of all patients treated for suicide risk in emergency departments or hospital inpatient units.
Objective 9.4: Adopt and implement guidelines to effectively engage families and concerned others, when appropriate, throughout entire episodes of care for persons with suicide risk.
After an attempt: A guide for taking care of your family member after treatment in the emergency department
Originally developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness in partnership with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians, this 9-page brochure provides family members of those who’ve attempted suicide with practical information regarding the likely assessment, treatment, and follow-up the family member will receive during and after their visit to the emergency department. It was revised in 2018. Subjects addressed include:
•What Happens in the Emergency Department
•What the Emergency Department Needs to Know: How You Can Help
•Next Steps after the Emergency Department
•What you Need to Know
•Moving Forward
•Links to Additional Resources
Objectives:
Those who read the brochure should:
1.Have increased understanding of Emergency Department procedures regarding assessment and treatment of those who attempt suicide.
2.Have increased knowledge of how they can help reduce the risk of subsequent suicide attempts by family members who’ve attempted suicide.
Implementation Essentials:
•Brochures should be provided to emergency department staff for distribution along with the following National Suicide Prevention Lifeline brochures that address the needs of those who attempt suicide and emergency department medical staff:◦After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Yourself After Your Treatment in the Emergency Department.
◦After an Attempt: A Guide for Medical Providers in the Emergency Department Taking Care of Suicide Attempt Survivors.
2012 NSSP Objectives Addressed:
Objective 8.4: Promote continuity of care and the safety and well-being of all patients treated for suicide risk in emergency departments or hospital inpatient units.
Objective 9.4: Adopt and implement guidelines to effectively engage families and concerned others, when appropriate, throughout entire episodes of care for persons with suicide risk
After an attempt: A guide for medical providers in the emergency department taking care of suicide attempt survivors
This brochure provides tips for emergency department providers to enhance care for individuals who have attempted suicide.
Originally developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians, this 7-page brochure provides practical information regarding Emergency Department care of suicide attempters. The brochure addresses the following topics:
•Patient Care in the Emergency Department: Helpful Tips
•Communicating With a Patient’s Family or Other Caregiver
•Communicating With Other Medical Professionals About a Patient
•Patient Discharge From the Emergency Department: What the ED Can Do To Ease the Transition
•Resources for Professionals in the Emergency Department
Objectives:
Those who read the brochure should:
1.Have increased awareness of tips that will enhance care of suicide attempters.
2.Have increased awareness of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA), patient discharge, and resources about suicide for medical professionals, patients, and their families.
Implementation Essentials:
•Brochures should be provided to emergency department staff for distribution along with the following National Suicide Prevention Lifeline brochures that address the needs of those who attempt suicide and their families:
◦After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Yourself After Your Treatment in the Emergency Department.
◦After an Attempt: A Guide for Taking Care of Your Family Member after Treatment in the Emergency Department.
•Emergency room physicians should be familiar with the American Psychiatric Association’s Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Patients with Suicidal Behaviors.
After a campus suicide: A postvention guide for student-led responses
This guide is designed to assist students in leading a campus-wide effective response to a campus suicide which is in alignment with their campus’s postvention plan or in place of such a plan if none exists.
Help & Hope for Survivors of Suicide Loss
This short booklet is designed to assist the newly bereaved without an overwhelming amount of information at a painful time. Sections include: Grief and coping; Tips for telling family and friends; Talking to children and youth; Helping someone after a suicide loss; How to remember a loved one; How to manage social media; Financial concerns and Identifying suicide risk in oneself and others. The resource list is focused on Indiana but the resource is useful for all survivors and those working with them.
Suicide assessment and prevention for older adults
This brochure describes how clinicians can recognize suicide risk, engage at-risk elders in the assessment process, perform an assessment, and address immediate and ongoing risk management. It also lists risk and resiliency factors, warning signs, and organizations that can provide additional information.
Guiding their way back: A resource for people who are supporting someone after a suicide attempt
This resource was developed to provide guidance for those providing support to a loved one after a suicide attempt. Friends and family can find the time after a loved one’s attempt very difficult and emotionally challenging. It is hoped that with the input of experts and those with lived experience of suicide attempt who developed this guide they will be supported in assisting their loved one through this difficult period.
It’s time to talk about it: A family guide for youth suicide prevention
The University of South Florida’s It’s Time to Talk About It: A Family Guide for Youth Suicide Prevention booklet describes the many critical roles families can play in preventing youth suicide. Included in the 20-page guide are (1) ways to help families become aware of the warning signs and risk factors of youth suicide, (2) steps to help families get help for at-risk youth, (3) tips to help families promote emotional well-being for youth in their communities, (4) strategies to help families build partnerships with helping professionals, and (5) ways families can become suicide prevention advocates and champions in their communities. A list of national mental health and educational resources is included. Florida-based resources are also included.
The Family Guide was developed using a community-based research approach: 43 individuals, including family members of youth at risk for suicide, survivors of suicide, and treatment professionals, participated in a multi-state, multi-informant interview and feedback process. These participants shared their personal experiences and perceptions about mental illness, suicide, treatment, and related fears and difficulties in order to contribute to the development of the content for the guide.
Objectives:
Those who read It’s Time to Talk About It: A Family Guide for Youth Suicide Prevention will increase their:
1. Knowledge and awareness about youth suicide.
2. Knowldge of how to promote strengths and resiliency.
3. Awareness of community-based resources.
4. Positive attitudes towards promoting suicide prevention within their families and communities.
Implementation Essentials:
- Organizations that use It’s Time to Talk About It should provide information about local resources and referral points for those who may be at risk for suicide.