If someone is really dedicated to it, they can fool all of us. All we have to go on is what they tell us. Complicating matters is that the mental health industry doesn't have a standard course of treatment for suicidal patients, as they do for other illnesses. This lack of consistency can mean less effective suicide prevention measures for some patients. A panel of national experts on suicide is now formulating a standard of care, which Bongar estimates could be implemented within the next five years.
Awareness means teaching the public to recognize the signs of suicide and seek help.
Intervention means doing whatever it takes to prevent a person in crisis from attempting or completing suicide. Methodology means more funding for research into effective intervention measures and the factors that protect people from attempting suicide. If we could do those three things, we could lower the suicide rate in this country for the first time in decades. Karla Jackson covers youth issues.