Suicide Intervention

Suicide Intervention

Abstract

Human beings engage in a wide range of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. These range from risk taking (e.g., skydiving), through suicide ideation, instrumental suicide-related behavior (e.g., suicide threats) to suicidal acts (attempted and completed). Suicide involves self-chosen behavior intended to bring about one's death in the shortest term. This paper analyses the topic of suicide intervention and negotiations. Each year, at least half a million people worldwide end their own lives. Difficulties in identifying unequivocal evidence of intent underpin the generally accepted view that official statistics underestimate the true suicide rate by an unknown amount. The presence of a note or letter often provides the clearest evidence of intent, but less than 30% of those who die by their own hand leave such a communication. Differing legal and ascertainment procedures account for some of the variation in national suicide rates. There may also be social pressures to underreport, especially in the absence of unequivocal evidence of intent, because of the stigma associated with suicide. In doubtful circumstances, attributing the cause of death to something other than suicide may lessen the pain for family and friends. Defining attempted suicide is equally complex because the behavior is characterized by several dimensions, including the lethality of the method used, the level of medical injury inflicted, and the level of suicidal intent. In North America, evidence of intent is included in the definition of attempted suicide. Definitional variations contribute to an unknown extent to discrepancies among research findings on suicide and attempted suicide in different countries.

Suicide Intervention

Suicide intervention or suicide crisis intervention is direct effort to stop or prevent persons attempting or contemplating suicide from killing themselves. Current medical advice concerning people who are attempting or seriously considering suicide is that they should immediately go or be taken to the nearest emergency room, or emergency services should be called immediately by them or anyone aware of the problem. Modern medicine treats suicide as a mental health issue. According to medical practice, severe suicidal ideation, that is, serious contemplation or planning of suicide, is a medical emergency and that the condition requires immediate emergency medical treatment.

In the United States, individuals who express the intent to harm themselves are automatically determined to lack the present mental capacity to refuse treatment, and can be transported to an emergency department against their will. An emergency physician there will determine whether or not inpatient care at a mental health care facility is warranted. This is sometimes referred to as being "committed." If the doctor determines involuntary commitment is needed, the patient is hospitalized and kept under observation until a court hearing is held to determine the patient's competence.

Individuals suffering from depression are considered a high-risk group for suicidal behavior. When depression is a major factor, successful treatment of the depression usually leads to the disappearance of suicidal thoughts. However, medical treatment of depression is not always successful, and lifelong depression can contribute to recurring suicide attempts.

Medical personnel frequently receive special training to look for ...