suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally ending your life.

There are three levels of intervention in suicide; 1) universal 2) selective and 3) indicated.

Universal interventions target everyone in a defined population. They aim to increase awareness about suicide, remove barriers to care, promote help-seeking and encourage protective factors. Some examples of universal interventions include school-based interventions and national initiatives such as restricted access to lethal means. Evidence suggests that universal interventions are effective at increasing awareness and helping skills, though there is little evidence to suggest they’re effective at reducing suicide-related thoughts or behaviours.

Selective interventions address specific groups at increased risk for suicidal behaviours, for instance those with mental health problems or harmful use of substances. To date, there have been few studies into selective interventions and results are mixed.

Indicated interventions target high-risk individuals already displaying signs of suicidal behaviour. Examples include brief contact interventions (e.g. crisis cards) and talking therapies. Evidence suggests that brief contact interventions are effective for young people in clinical settings. A network meta-analysis conducted in 2021 found that the most effective talking therapies for suicide and self-harm in young people are dialectical behavioural therapies and mentalisation-based therapies.

 

Our suicide Blogs

Suicide prevention at suicide hotspots

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David Steele talks us through a systematic review and meta-analysis, which found that commonly used interventions are effective at preventing completed suicides at suicide hotspots.

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Can psychotherapy reduce suicide and self-harm in young people?

A young woman suffering from depression is consoled by her friend.

Mark Smith presents the findings of a recent systematic review and meta analysis of therapeutic interventions for suicide and self-harm in young people.

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Varenicline is not associated with an increased risk of suicide or criminal behaviour

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Abi Rose summarises a recent cohort study, which concludes that the smoking cessation drug varenicline is not associated with increased risk of suicidal or criminal behaviour, and association with psychiatric disorders are likely due to other factors.  

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Joining the dots: mental and physical health

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Lia Ali and colleagues from the IMPARTS project present the findings of their group discussions about a recent review of mortality in mental disorders. Along the way she discusses the staff training they carried out and the tweet chat they ran to consider the implications of this research, both to individuals and on the global burden of disease.

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Social media and suicide prevention

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Claire Niedzwiedz summarises a recent systematic review that provides a narrative synthesis of research into social media and suicide prevention.

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Premature mortality in bipolar disorder

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Elena Marcus appraises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of premature mortality in bipolar affective disorder, which finds that people with bipolar disorder have increased mortality rates compared with the general population.

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Psychosocial therapy effective in reducing self-harm, suicide and all-cause death

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Elly O’Brien summarises a large Danish cohort study, which investigates the short-term and long-term effects of psychosocial therapy for people after deliberate self-harm.

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Varenicline and the risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events and death

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Natasha Clarke publishes her debut Mental Elf blog about a new systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with the smoking cessation drug varenicline.

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