Suicide: Additional Resources

CDC Resources

• Disaster Mental Health
  CDC's Web page on disaster mental health includes information on coping with the stress that results from natural and man made traumatic events.

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Other Federal Resources

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network
  The mission of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for
  traumatized children, their families, and communities throughout the United States.

• National Institute of Mental Health
  The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal government's principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIMH's mission is to reduce the burden of mental illness and behavioral disorders through research on mind, brain, and behavior.
  
  
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
  The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. By dialing 1-800-273-TALK, the call is routed to the nearest crisis center in our national network of more than 140 crisis centers. The Lifeline’s national network of local crisis centers, provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals day and night.
  
  
• National Strategy for Suicide Prevention/Department of Health and Human Services
  The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) is the first attempt in the United States to prevent suicide through a systematic approach. It lays out a framework for developing an array of suicide prevention services and programs. The NSSP emphasizes coordination of resources and the application of culturally appropriate services at all levels of government and in the private sector.
  
  
• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
  The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides national leadership, coordination, and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization. OJJDP supports states and communities in their efforts to develop and implement effective and coordinated prevention and intervention programs. OJJDP also works to improve the juvenile justice system so that it protects public safety, holds offenders accountable, and provides treatment and rehabilitative services tailored to the needs of juveniles and their families. Their publication, "Juvenile Suicides, 1991-1998," draws on CDC-compiled data to examine trends and characteristics of more than 20,000 suicides committed by juveniles during that period.
  
  
• Safe Schools/Healthy Students
  The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative is a unique Federal grant-making program designed to prevent violence and substance abuse among our Nation's youth, schools, and communities.
  
  
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is the Federal agency charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illnesses.
  
  
• The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide
  This document introduces a blueprint for addressing suicide: Awareness, Intervention, and Methodology (AIM). This approach is derived from the collaborative deliberations of the 1st National Suicide Prevention Conference participants. As a framework for suicide prevention, AIM includes 15 key recommendations that were refined from consensus and evidence-based findings presented at the Reno conference.

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Additional Online Resources

• American Association of Suicidology
  The goal of the American Association of Suicidology's (AAS) is to understand and prevent suicide. Founded in 1968, AAS promotes research, public awareness programs, public education, and training for professionals and volunteers. AAS serves as a national clearinghouse for information on suicide.
  
  
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is dedicated to advancing knowledge of suicide and its preventable nature. The foundation's activities include (1) supporting research projects that further the understanding and treatment of depression and the prevention of suicide; (2) providing information and education about depression and suicide; (3) promoting professional education for the recognition and treatment of depressed and suicidal individuals; (4) publicizing the magnitude of the problems of depression and suicide and the need for research, prevention, and treatment; and (5) supporting programs for suicide survivor treatment, research, and education.
  
  
• Institute of Medicine
  The Institute of Medicine released a report entitled Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. The report contains four recommendations from The Committee on Pathophysiology and Prevention of Adolescent and Adult Suicide, which examined the state of the science base, gaps in knowledge, strategies for prevention, and research designs for studying suicide. The report reflects different perspectives and levels of analysis and states precisely what decision makers need to do to advance the science and improve health and social perspectives. The report is available from the National Academy Press.*
  
  
• National Center for Suicide Prevention Training
  The National Center for Suicide Prevention Training provides educational resources to help public officials, service providers, and community-based coalitions develop effective suicide prevention programs and policies.
  
  
• Reporting on Suicide: Recommendations for the Media
  The media play a powerful role in educating multiple audiences about suicide prevention by informing readers and viewers about the likely causes of suicide, warning signs, trends in suicide rates, and recent advances in prevention. These recommendations will help guide the media in educating readers and viewers about the steps that can be taken to prevent suicide.
  
  
• Suicide Awareness Voices of Education
  Suicide Awareness Voices of Education's mission is to educate about suicide prevention, eliminate stigma, and support those touched by suicide.
  
  
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center
  The Suicide Prevention Resource Center supports suicide prevention by offering the best of science, skills, and practice. The center provides technical assistance, training, and informational materials to strengthen suicide prevention networks and advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
  
  
• The Suicide Prevention Action Network
  The Suicide Prevention Action Network serves as the public policy and advocacy division of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).  The organization was created to raise awareness, build political will, and call for action with regard to creating, advancing, implementing and evaluating a national strategy to address suicide in the United States.
  
  
• Training Institute for Suicide Assessment and Clinical Interviewing
  This Web site is designed specifically for mental health professionals, substance-abuse counselors, school counselors, primary-care physicians, and psychiatric nurses who are looking for information on the development of suicide prevention skills, crisis intervention skills, and advanced clinical interviewing skills.
  
  
• World Health Organization/World Report on Violence and Health [PDF 239 KB]
  This report, produced by the World Health Organization, is written mainly for researchers and practitioners. Its goals are to raise global awareness about the problems of violence and to make the case that violence is preventable. The report includes a chapter specifically on self-directed violence (Chapter 7).

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