Important: if you or someone you love is considering suicide, please call the national suicide & crisis lifeline: dial 988 or use the lifeline chat for immediate help 24/7/365.

If you or someone you love is having a medical emergency right now, call 911 or go to a hospital emergency room.

Suicidal Ideation

Our clinical team has decades of experience offering treatment and support to patients with a wide variety of mental health diagnoses, including patients with persistent suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior.

Conditions we treat that may cause suicidal ideation include:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Our approach to treating mental health diagnoses includes a combination of innovative, evidence-based therapies and individualized support to give each of our patients the best possible chance of treatment success. The benefits of mental health treatment at Relief Mental Health include:

  • Skilled, compassionate, caring clinicians and staff committed to helping each patient meet their treatment goals
  • Innovative treatment approaches including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), SPRAVATO®, and IV ketamine infusions
  • Medication management directed by licensed providers
  • Therapy and support with our team of skilled experienced therapists and counselors

We combine traditional approaches such as psychiatry, medication management, and talk therapy with cutting-edge technologies like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), SPRAVATO®, and IV ketamine infusions. Our wide range of treatment options increases the likelihood that all patients at Relief Mental Health meet their treatment goals and learn to successfully manage the symptoms of mental health diagnoses that may involve suicidal ideation.

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What is Suicidal Ideation?

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), suicidal ideation occurs when an individual engages in:

“…thoughts of serving as the agent of one’s own death. Suicidal ideation may vary in seriousness depending on the specificity of suicide plans and the degree of suicidal intent.”

There are two categories of suicidal ideation:

Passive Suicidal Ideation

Passive suicidal ideation occurs when an individual thinks about ending their own life, but no plans to end their life, no means or method to end their life, and no date or time when they want to end their life. Passive suicidal ideation is also characterized by “…indifference to an accidental demise which would occur if steps are not taken to maintain one’s own life.”

Active Suicidal Ideation

Active suicidal ideation is when an individual makes a plan to end their life, has means to end their life, and a date or time when they plan to end their life. Active suicidal ideation is also characterized by “…a conscious desire to inflict self-harming behaviors when…the expectation that their attempt could produce a fatal outcome is the key consideration.”

Whether active or passive, suicidal ideation is a serious mental health issue. If a family member, friend, or loved on engages in suicidal ideation, it’s critical to find them support immediately. Here’s something to understand:

While every instance of suicidal ideation does not lead to a suicide attempt, almost every suicide attempt is preceded by suicidal ideation.

The most common warning signs of suicide include:

  • Direct threats to end life
  • Seeking means to end life: i.e., attempting to buy a firearm, hording dangerous medication
  • Existence of a suicide plan
  • Talking frequently about suicide or death
  • Extreme hopelessness
  • Expressions of rage or anger
  • Agitation/anxiety
  • Unspecified talk about getting revenge
  • Uncharacteristic risky behavior
  • A sense of being trapped/stuck and seeing no way out
  • Uncharacteristic increase in alcohol or substance use
  • Saying goodbye to and/or withdrawing from friends, loved ones, and family
  • Extreme mood swings
  • Statements/discussions that include statements like “I have no reason to live” or “I see no purpose in my life”

Factors in an individual’s life that increase the risk of suicide are called risk factors, and include:

  • History of trauma, neglect, or abuse
  • History of suicidal behavior
  • Presence of mental illness
  • Diagnosis of a serious medical condition
  • Death in the family
  • Extreme financial hardship
  • Disrupted family or relationship dynamics, i.e., divorce
  • Physical, social, emotional isolation

While there are no silver linings to suicide data – every death is a tragedy, and one fatal suicide is one too many – we will point out that in 2020, over 96% of suicide attempts did not end in death. Overall, over 90% of people who attempt suicide do not die by suicide. When we combine these data points with another fact reported in a nationwide study – – only 31% of people who die by suicide received mental health care in the year before their death – we know that if we get more people who engage in suicidal ideation into an evidence-based mental health treatment program, we can reduce rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and fatal suicide.

How Relief Mental Health Can Help: Treatment for Suicidal Ideation

We provide comprehensive, personalized care for people who engage in suicidal ideation, and the mental health diagnoses for which suicidal ideation is a common symptom. However, in some cases, people with no history of mental illness and few warning signs engage in suicidal ideation and attempt suicide. That’s why it’s important to consider suicidal ideation alone – in the absence of a mental health diagnosis – as a very serious phenomenon.

Never ignore suicidal ideation.

The therapeutic techniques we use to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety also help people who engage in suicidal ideation. Our personalized treatment may include one or more of the treatments below.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is designed to treat depression, OCD, and other common diagnoses safely and effectively. TMS works by emitting gentle magnetic pulses to the area of the brain that regulates mood. These pulses activate specific areas of the brain and decrease symptoms of depression. Patients will sit comfortably in a chair during their 20-minute session and can drive themselves home after treatment.

TMS does not require anesthesia, hospitalization, and has no systemic side effects.

BrainsWay Technology

Relief Mental Health uses BrainsWay technology which has been demonstrated to have exceptional efficacy due to its broad and deep prefrontal stimulation. Unlike medication, the benefits of TMS are durable. This means that patients experience lasting remission of symptoms long after treatment has been completed. Even in cases where medications have not proven effective, TMS can help our patients overcome their symptoms.

TMS does not require…

anesthesia, hospitalization, and has no systemic side effects. During the 20-minute treatment session, patients sit in a comfortable chair and engage with our staff. This extra engagement during treatment helps improve the efficacy of treatment and yield better results compared to other TMS clinics. Patients are awake and alert throughout treatment but typically don’t experience any pain.

SPRAVATO®

SPRAVATO® is a prescription medicine used to treat:

  • Adults with treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
  • Depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal thoughts or actions

SPRAVATO® (esketamine) is the first and only NMDA receptor antagonist approved for adults. It’s administered under medical supervision in one of our carefully designed therapeutic rooms. Your physical and mental health are expertly monitored during care.

SPRAVATO® demonstrates consistent safety across indications and can only be administered in a certified healthcare setting. Relief Psychedelics is an REMS-certified provider of SPRAVATO® for people with treatment-resistant depression.

SPRAVATO® is fast acting and effective.

While some treatments take weeks or months to yield results, patients often feel the positive benefits of SPRAVATO® within hours. For patients in the middle of a severe depressive episode, this fast-acting treatment can propel patients into remission quickly.

IV Ketamine Infusions

Evidence shows that intravenous (IV) infusions with ketamine have positive therapeutic effects.

Research on ketamine shows the following:

  • Ketamine can reduce symptoms associated with depressive diagnoses quickly, in as little as 40 minutes.
  • 70 percent of patients with depressive symptoms experience improvement with ketamine treatment.

When a patient chooses IV ketamine treatment, the first step is either a virtual or in-person consultation to determine whether IV ketamine is an appropriate candidate for their diagnosis. New patients to Relief Mental Health can expect their initial consultation to last about an hour, while current Relief Mental Health patients using IV ketamine as a new treatment modality can expect their initial consultation to last about half an hour. After an initial consultation and if the patient is deemed clinically appropriate, an appointment is scheduled for the patient to return at his or her earliest convenience.

Psychiatry & Medication Management

From initial evaluation to medication management to psychotherapy referrals, our psychiatric team puts you on the right path to optimal mental health. On your first visit, we will review symptoms, personal history, treatment options, and life goals to create a plan that keeps you moving forward. At returning visits, we monitor progress as well as respond to any new treatment modalities. We’re here to help you achieve your goals every step of the way.

We see patients with established diagnoses that need continued psychiatric care as well as patients seeking a diagnosis for the first time. Psychiatric medication is not the right fit for everyone but many find success by adding medication to their plan of care. Because many psychiatric medications are long term, having a provider that specializes in this type of prescribing is crucial.

Our team of Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Associates have unique treatment experience. Finding the right provider can be the catalyst to great results. For more information about an individual provider call our intake line and we will match you with the right fit. 

Relief Mental Health offers both in office and telehealth visits to be able to provide flexibility that fits into your life. Our team will develop a treatment plan tailored to your diagnosis and needs.

Therapy

Discover the tremendous things you’re capable of achieving and create a more fulfilling life with the help of a Relief therapist. Our staff consists of therapists with varied expertise that we carefully match with patients to help them become the best version of themselves. We will do a short intake and match you with the most appropriate therapist based on your goals, geography, availability, and diagnosis.

Therapy is beneficial for a variety of challenging diagnoses including but not limited to depression, anxiety, mood instability, sexuality issues, trauma, self-injury, eating disorders, coping with loss, stress management, and more. Depending on your diagnosis, we use a variety of evidence-based modalities such as CBT, DBT, ERP, ACT.

We offer both telehealth and in person appointments. Schedules, geography, and provider will help determine how we see you.

Anyone in a suicide-related crisis should call the national suicide & crisis lifeline at 988 or use the lifeline chat for immediate help 24/7/365.

Never ignore talk of suicide.

Suicide: Facts and Figures

Here are the latest facts on suicide in the U.S., published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

Between 2000 and 2018, rates of suicide increased 30%.

In the year 2020:

  • 45,979 people died by suicide: that’s one death every 11 minutes
  • Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people 10-14 and 25-34
  • Suicide was the 9th leading cause of death for people 10-64

There are two primary reasons we want to help people who engage in suicidal ideation.

First, we want them to live, which means finding a way to prevent suicidal ideation from escalating to a suicide attempt. Second, we know that a person who engages in suicidal ideation is a person in significant psychological and emotional pain and distress – and we want to help them get to the root of their issues and find a path toward healing and growth.

We say this in the context of an overall increase in suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and fatal suicide over the past twenty years.

Facts on suicidal ideation from the CDC:

Here are the latest facts on suicide in the U.S., published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

Between 2000 and 2018, rates of suicide increased 30%.

In the year 2020:

  • 45,979 people died by suicide: that’s one death every 11 minutes
  • Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people 10-14 and 25-34
  • Suicide was the 9th leading cause of death for people 10-64

Additional facts from the CDC:

Here are the latest facts on suicidal ideation from the CDC. In 2020:
  • 12.2 million people seriously considered suicide
  • 3.2 million people made a plan to attempt suicide
  • 1.2 million people attempted suicide

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For questions or to book an appointment, give us a call or complete our confidential form. A member of our team will reach out within 24 hours.

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