Resource Guides

Books

  • Night Falls Fast

    Kay Redfield Jameson

    The first major book in a quarter century on suicide—and its terrible pull on the young in particular—Night Falls Fast is tragically timely: suicide has become one of the most common killers of Americans between the ages of fifteen and forty-five. Buy

  • Why People Die by Suicide

    Thomas Joiner

    In the wake of a suicide, the most troubling questions are invariably the most difficult to answer: How could we have known? What could we have done? And always, unremittingly: Why? Written by a clinical psychologist whose own life has been touched by suicide, this book offers the clearest account ever given of why some people choose to die. Buy

  • Myths About Suicide

    Thomas Joiner

    Around the world, more than a million people die by suicide each year. Yet many of us know very little about a tragedy that may strike our own loved ones―and much of what we think we know is wrong. This clear and powerful book dismantles myth after myth to bring compassionate and accurate understanding of a massive international killer. Buy

  • When It Is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do to Prevent It

    Rory O’Connor

    Drawing on decades of work in the field of suicide prevention and research, and having been bereaved by suicide twice, Professor O’Connor is here to help. This book will untangle the complex reasons behind suicide and dispel any unhelpful myths. Buy

  • Suicide: An Unnecessary Death

    Danuta Wasserman

    Suicide: An unnecessary death examines the pharmacological, psychotherapeutic, and psychosocial measures adopted by psychiatrists, GPs, and other health-care staff, and emphasizes the need for a clearer psychodynamic understanding of the self if patients are to be successfully recognized, diagnosed, and treated. Buy

  • The Suicidal Mind

    Edwin S. Shneidman

    Dr. Shneidman has written a groundbreaking work for every person who has ever thought about suicide or knows anybody who was contemplated it. The book brims with insight into the suicidal impulse and with helpful suggestions on how to counteract it. Shneidman presents a bold and simple premise: the main cause of suicide is psychological pain or “psychache”. Buy

Websites

  • Roses in the Ocean

    Australia’s leading lived experience of suicide organization, Roses in the Ocean exists to save lives and to reduce emotional distress and pain. Roses in the Ocean collaborates with individuals and organizations across community, corporate, health and government sectors to effectively and meaningfully engage lived experience of suicide expertise with all aspects of suicide prevention. Driving system reform, co-designing innovative services, and affecting cultural change are key focuses as we strive to contribute to best practice and a growing evidence base. Visit

  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

    Established in 1987, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death. AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide, including those who have experienced a loss. Visit

  • Zero Suicide

    The foundational belief of Zero Suicide is that suicide deaths for individuals under the care of health and behavioral health systems are preventable. For systems dedicated to improving patient safety, Zero Suicide presents an aspirational challenge and practical framework for system-wide transformation toward safer suicide care. Visit

  • Help Guide, Suicide Prevention

    The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1 million people die each year from suicide. What drives so many individuals to take their own lives? To those who are not in the grips of suicidal depression and despair, it's difficult to understand what drives so many individuals to take their own lives. But a suicidal person is in so much pain that they can see no other option. Visit

Free Trainings and Courses on Prevention

  • CAMS Framework®

    CAMS (The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) is a treatment framework in which a client and a clinician work together to keep the patient stable, ideally in outpatient therapy, and identifies the “drivers” that compel the client to take their life. The therapist and the client work on treating those drivers to reduce stress, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation while increasing hope. More

  • LivingWorks

    LivingWorks is a mission-driven organization with an industry-leading approach to suicide prevention: we want to empower everyone to play a role. Guided by our values and our commitment to across-the-board quality, we're here to help make communities everywhere safer from suicide. More

  • Suicide Prevention Resource Center

    SPRC provides in-person trainings, online courses, webinars, and other virtual learning experiences. More

  • The Lighthouse Project

    The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), the most evidence-supported tool of its kind, is a simple series of questions that anyone can use anywhere in the world to prevent suicide. More

“ When we recognize that someone is having [suicidal] thoughts, and we reach out, we are instantly planting a seed of hope that they’re not invisible, that they’re not alone.”
— Misty Vaughan Allen