Resources for Providers

Health care professionals help to prevent suicide through community education and awareness efforts, and by providing intervention and postvention services.

Screening and Assessment

• SAFE-T: Suicide Assessment Five-step Evaluation and Triage for Mental Health professionals [PDF - 56 KB] Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  is a five-step guide for clinicians that addresses patient levels of suicide risk and appropriate interventions.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists suicide prevention tools, information, and links to resources Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  to help increase awareness of suicide as a public health issue, and promote connectedness and community resources to prevent suicide.
• The Screening for Mental Health website provides a diagnostic questionnaire, Act now to stop a suicide—What to look for—and what to do if you are concerned about someone [PDF - 1.45 MB].Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
• The Means MatterExit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  website provides information on how a person may attempt suicide, and details the importance of “means reduction” (reducing access to lethal tools/methods).
• The Suicide Prevention Resource Center Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  provides technical assistance, training, and materials to increase the knowledge and expertise of professionals serving people at risk for suicide. Resources include a webpage for professionals serving American Indian and Alaska Native communities.Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov 
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) offers a guide for medical providers Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  on patient care after a suicide attempt.

Clinical Practice Guideline

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (VA/DoD) established a Clinical Practice Guideline Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  for the assessment and management of patients at risk for suicide. The guideline identifies critical decision points in the management of suicide risk behavior, and provides clear recommendations on incorporating current information into practice. The guideline is only a tool to assist providers, and is not a substitute for clinical judgment.

Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention

The American Indian/Alaska Native pages Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) were customized to to enhance suicide prevention and mental health promotion resources for individuals working with American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

The AI/AN Task Force developed the National AI/AN Hope for Life Day toolkit Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  to further advance the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s priority to change the public conversation around suicide and suicide prevention in AI/AN communities.

The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , a national public-private partnership advancing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, created an AI/AN Task Force in 2011, which aims to support suicide prevention efforts in native communities nationwide.

Through SAMHSA, the NSPL also offers three guides in booklet form to taking care of yourself Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , loved onesExit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov , or, for medical providers to care for patients Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  after a suicide attempt.

The NSPL has a Lifeline Online Postvention Manual [PDF - 105 MB]Exit Disclaimer: You Are Leaving www.ihs.gov  presentation on the Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s American Indian Initiative to assist with healing after a suicide or suicide attempt.