Resource Types: Guidelines/Recommendations

This report is the fourteenth in a series of Technical Reports produced by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). The report outlines the State Mental Health Authority (SMHA) leadership role in preventing suicide among persons with serious mental illness. It suggests ways in which SMHAs can increase collaboration, raise awareness of the signs of suicide, and intervene to save lives.

Developed by the Medical Directors Council of NASMHPD, Suicide Prevention Efforts for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: Roles for the State Mental Health Authority outlines the leadership role that State Mental Health Authorities can take in preventing suicide among persons with serious mental illness (SMI). It suggests ways in which State Mental Health Authorities can increase collaboration, raise awareness of the signs of suicide, and intervene to save lives. The report is organized into four sections:
1.Epidemiology of mental illness and suicide, including suicide risk factors for those with serious mental illness;
2.Perspectives from survivors of suicide attempts, and family and friends of those who have died by suicide;
3.Overview of the national response to suicide prevention, including specific suicide prevention strategies for specific settings; and,
4.Conclusions and corresponding recommendations regarding a variety of suicide prevention efforts relevant to State Mental Health Program Directors.

This resource manual assists concerned adults in creating safe environments for rural gay youth. Includes information for students, teachers, and social service providers. Offers a comprehensive list of resources.

Summarizes the most recent studies on preventing suicide in older (59+) adults. Describes the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention goals and objectives for meeting the needs of older adults.

Reviews the traditional missions of health care service organizations and looks toward organizational needs for the future. Encourages grassroots, community-based providers to assess and capitalize on their value to the economy.

This toolkit is designed to help grassroots community and faith based organizations develop program services. Includes six separate books: Introduction; Organizational Assessment and Readiness; Effective Marketing Strategies; Financial Management; Sustainability Strategies; and Results-Oriented Evaluation.

This Practice Brief is for policymakers, administrators, and providers seeking to learn more about youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, or two-spirit and how to develop culturally and linguistically competent programs and services to meet their needs and preferences.

Developed by The Jed Foundation, Student Mental Health and the Law: A Resource for Institutions of Higher
Education addresses issues of law and liability that can be challenging as colleges develop policies for and work
with students who are distressed or suicidal. Student Mental Health and the Law provides clarification of FERPA,
disability law and other legal issues colleges face, and includes “good practice” guidelines for addressing campus
mental health and working with students in distress. Good practice guidelines include:
• Encouraging campus-wide communication
• Developing an emergency contact notification
• protocol
• Establishing a case management team
• Developing leave of absence (LOA) protocols
• Avoiding “zero-tolerance” policies for self-harm
• Understanding the complexities of mandating
• assessment and treatment
• Establishing individualized re-entry requirements
• Encouraging students to be proactive about their
• mental health
• Offering insurance with mental health coverage
• Promoting appropriate boundaries
• Developing a memorandum of understanding
• (MOU)
• Proactively addressing potential conflicts
• Reaching out to affected students
• Establishing and following appropriate policies
• and protocols

Objectives:
Users of Student Mental Health and the Law should have:
1. Increased understanding of applicable laws and professional guidelines related to student mental health;
2. Increased knowledge of good practice recommendations related to student mental health.

This guide is intended to give schools, districts, and communities the critical concepts and components of good crisis planning, stimulate thinking about the crisis preparedness process, and provide examples of promising practices.

Guidelines for medical professionals on how to handle suicidality and/or violence in patients with HIV/AIDS.

This manual describes: evidence based practices of elder suicide prevention; screening tools for assessing elder suicide risk; best practices in elder suicide prevention across the U.S.; current training programs for direct care staff in other states; public awareness education campaigns; and funding sources that could support Maine in pursuing this issue further. Prepared for the Joint Advisory Committee on Select Services for Older Persons (JAC) and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.