Science and Trends in Suicide Prevention

Available with English captions and subtitles in Spanish.

Presented by Christine Moutier, MD, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

In this talk, Moutier highlights changing attitudes about mental health and the reasons behind this shift. She discusses advances in mental health policy at the state and federal level and describes how we need even more action to prevent suicide in our communities.

Watch now to learn more about:

  • Changing attitudes about mental health
  • Risk and protective factors in suicide prevention
  • How communities can take more steps to prevent suicide

Moutier highlights a cultural shift in attitudes surrounding mental health: 96% of American adults now view their mental health as just as important as their physical health.

She describes how multiple areas of suicide risk and protective factors interact with a person’s biology, psychology, and cognition within historical, social, and environmental factors.

Moutier says that when it comes to suicide prevention, the national discourse is based more in science than it was in the past. In addition, more people are opening up about their mental health challenges: from celebrities such as Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka, to members of the clinician world, including nurses, physicians, and other health care workers.

Moutier cites examples of a national momentum to engage in a deeper understanding and implementation of policies and practices. In this lecture, she maintains that universal education strategies at the public health level must occur to deepen mental health literacy.

In addition, she describes how health systems and health system leaders must implement system-level changes in training, policies, and workflows so employees can work together as a team to protect people from suicide.