Treatment to prevent suicide

Did you know that suicide accounts for approximately 29,000 deaths each year in the United States? Two different methods of analysis both suggest that at least 5,000 of the individuals who commit suicide have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder at the time of their suicide. Other studies indicate that most of these individuals were not receiving adequate psychiatric treatment at the time of their death. Adequate psychiatric treatment could save up to 5,000 lives per year. These numbers, and the personal tragedies behind them should prompt serious discussion about the role that treatment can play in suicide prevention. The following Treatment Advocacy Center briefing paper has more information.