It is our job to listen, sometimes we can do everything right and the client might still complete suicide regardless of our interventions. However, this does not mean we do not try. I have found that the number one thing that impacts the completion of suicide is social supports, people who love and care for that person. However, we can not assume they have that just because they live with family or have many people around them because those people may not be positive people.

I once had a client tell me that if her life did not change by the time she was 21 she was going to complete suicide and check out, she was 18 when I was seeing her (she had a plan, but it was not immediate so we could not hospitalize her as she was clinically stable). Her primary issue was that her parents did not believe in mental health and she felt like the forgotten child in the family, she had a large family she lived with but still felt alone and isolated. Eventually, I had to refer her to a counseling center that focused on young adults ages 18-25 so she could try and build social supports with others in her age group that were experiencing the same concerns. However, it was difficult to safety plan with a person who feels they can not trust those around her, how do we build a safety net in this situation?