Suicide Support · Psychoeducation
Evidence & studies
Research will not replace a human conversation — but it can show what tends to help. Here is a plain-language tour of findings clinicians use.
Risk and protective factors
Risk factors raise probability. Protective factors buffer. Neither is a crystal ball.
Common risk factors (NIMH)
- Prior suicide attempt (among the strongest predictors of future attempts)
- Depression, other mental disorders, or substance use disorders
- Chronic pain; family history of mental illness, substance use, or suicide
- Exposure to violence or abuse; recent release from incarceration
- Easy access to lethal means; exposure to others’ suicidal behavior
- Acute stressors: loss, legal/financial crisis, shame, discrimination, relationship rupture
Protective factors
- Connection to family, friends, community, or faith
- Access to mental health care; reasons for living; problem-solving skills
- Meeting basic needs, stable housing, employment, and psychological resilience (supported in veteran longitudinal work)
NIMH Suicide FAQ↗ · CDC About Suicide Prevention↗ · protective factors in veterans: PMC6878990
Means safety (lethal-means counseling)
When someone is in crisis, time and distance from the most dangerous means save lives. Counseling about temporarily securing or removing access — done collaboratively, without graphic method detail — is a standard part of safety planning. Ask a crisis counselor or clinician how to do this for your situation.
This site will not list methods. If you need help making an environment safer tonight, call or text 988.
Safety Planning Intervention
The Stanley–Brown Safety Planning Intervention is a brief, collaborative plan: personal warning signs, internal coping, people/places for distraction, crisis contacts, professional help, and making the environment safer.
- A 2018 Veterans Affairs ED cohort study (SPI + follow-up phone contact) found about 45% fewer suicidal behaviors over 6 months vs usual care, and higher odds of attending outpatient care (Stanley et al., JAMA Psychiatry).
- A 2021 meta-analysis of safety-planning-type interventions found roughly a 43% reduction in suicidal behavior (RR ≈ 0.57) vs control; effects on ideation alone were not clear — other care may still be needed for thoughts.
suicidesafetyplan.com↗ · SPRC Stanley–Brown↗ · meta-analysis DOI: 10.1192/bjp.2021.50 · ED study DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.1776
Day-to-day version on this hub: After a crisis
Caring contacts
“Caring contacts” are brief, non-demanding messages (letters, texts, emails) after a crisis or discharge — checking in without requiring a reply. Evidence is mixed across trials, but several studies (including military samples) suggest reductions in attempts or ideation for some people. The idea is simple: you are not forgotten.
If you are supporting someone, a short “thinking of you — no need to reply” can be part of a larger safety net alongside 988 and professional care.
Asking is safe
Multiple reviews find that asking about suicide does not plant the idea. Gould’s school screening RCT (JAMA, 2005) found no increase in distress or ideation; high-risk youth asked about suicide were not harmed. Later meta-analyses reach the same conclusion.
Practice asking: Supporting someone else