The Emergency Department: A Window of Opportunity to Save Lives!

One of YSAM’s primary aims is to prevent suicidal and self-harm tendencies among children and adolescents. To achieve this goal, we deliver the Family Intervention for Suicide Prevention (FISP) in emergency departments to teens who have just experienced a suicide or self-harm episode, with the goal of decreasing their risk for future episodes.

A recent NIMH-funded study identified three additional cost-effective strategies for preventing suicide following an ER visit: sending patients follow-up postcards, reaching out to patients via telephone, and linking patients to suicide-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Consistent with previous research, the current study found that all three approaches reduced suicide attempts and deaths. In terms of affordability, each of these strategies was deemed cost-effective; however, the postcard approach was the only one that successfully reduced health care costs relative to usual care.

To learn more about this exciting research, you can read the full article here: http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ps.201600351?url_ver...