Teaching health care professionals about suicide safety planning.

The suicide safety plan is a plan of action created by the clinician and patient that essentially charts the course of what the patient should do if he/she begins to experience suicidal urges. It is important for clinicians to learn how to implement a safety plan so that they can offer this service to their patients and teach their colleagues and associates about suicide safety planning. The safety plan is a great tool employed to help patients with suicidal urges, but trainees-clinicians and clinician associates alike - should fully understand that it is not a form of treatment. However, since an effective treatment for suicidality does not exist, practitioners should definitely use suicide safety planning. Although more resources are now being provided to individuals with suicidal behavior, more research needs to be done to develop new, effective methods of treatment and prevention of suicidal behavior.