Get support for suicide risk covered by insurance

Suicide risk differs from other mental health concerns. It’s often associated with other mental health disorders, but it isn’t its own distinct condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Intervention for suicide risk often looks different than that of mental health disorders. People who are at risk of death from suicide often need immediate intervention to help ensure their safety. This can include involvement of professional crisis response teams, as well as higher level of care programs, such as intensive outpatient programs (IOP), partial hospitalization programs (PHP), residential programs, and inpatient treatment. Safety interventions can also include several brief strategies to reduce someone’s risk while in the community, as well as therapy and medication management to treat the underlying causes of suicide risk.

Evidence-Based Treatments and Strategies 

Brief Intervention Strategies

• Safety Planning Intervention (SPI): People at risk of suicide can create a plan to help reduce their risk of suicide by identifying strategies to manage triggers and to develop an action plan should they experience thoughts of suicide in the future.
• Lethal Means Counseling (LMC): By reducing access to potentially lethal means for people who are at risk of suicide, lives can be saved.
• Crisis Response Planning (CRP): This is another way to help individuals create a plan to enhance their overall health and well-being, as well as to know what to do in the event of a future crisis.

Therapy

• Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS): CAMS is a structured therapeutic tool that can be used by clinicians of all modalities and backgrounds. It focuses on the “drivers” of suicide risk, or the things in someone’s life that are contributing to their thoughts of suicide, hopelessness, and emotional pain. Everything is done in collaboration with the client, and as a result of this partnership, clients can focus on what’s most important to them and their recovery.
• Cognitive Behavior for Suicide Prevention: CBT-SP focuses on the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and core beliefs that contribute to increased risk of suicide. By acquiring new skills and tools, people are better equipped to manage and resolve stressors, as well as make positive changes in their lives.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy: DBT uses four main pillars of focus, mindfulness, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance to help people learn new ways of coping, manage their emotions, and improve relationships, which helps to reduce one’s risk of suicide.
• Attachment-Based Family Therapy: ABFT helps reduce suicide risk in adolescents by involving their families.
• Prolonged Grief Therapy: PGT supports people who are at a higher risk of suicide due to complicated grief and loss experiences.

Medication

• Clozapine: Currently, the only medication with an FDA-approved indication for reducing suicide risk. This medication is primarily used to treat schizophrenia.
• Lithium and antidepressants: These medications are used to treat mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder, and by reducing symptoms related to those conditions, people often see a reduction in suicide risk.
• Alternative Options: Ketamine is still being investigated for its potential in reducing suicide risk, but some studies show that it helps reduce depression for some people, and therefore reduces their risk of suicide.
• ‍Important note: Some of these medications require regular blood work to ensure safety. Consult with a healthcare provider to determine whether and which medications may be right for you.

Lifestyle Support

• Caring for one’s body is vital through regular exercise and movement, good sleep hygiene practices, and a balanced diet.
• Use stress management techniques and healthy sources of distraction.
• Social support is extremely important for people at risk of suicide, and building one’s community is a critically important aspect of recovery.