It's estimated that more than 5 million people in the United States have been directly affected by a suicide. Most suicidal individuals give warnings of their intentions, but others are either unaware of the significance of these warnings or do not know how to respond to them. Below are ways to be helpful to someone who is considering suicide:• Be direct and ask if he/she is thinking about suicide. Talk openly and freely about suicide.• Be willing to listen. Allow for expression of feelings and accept those feelings.• Show interest and support. Be non-judgmental. Don't debate whether suicide is right or wrong, or feelings are good or bad. Don't lecture on the value of life.• Don't ask "why." This encourages defensiveness.• Offer empathy, not sympathy.• Don't act shocked. This creates distance.• Don't be sworn to secrecy. Seek support.• Take action! Remove means and get help from individuals or agencies specializing in crisis intervention and suicide prevention.

Many experts believe that most suicidal individuals do not want to die; they just want to end the pain they are experiencing. When suicidal behaviors are detected early, lives can be saved. Seek out services available in your community for the assessment and treatment of suicidal behaviors and their underlying causes.

For more information or to find resources in your area, visit http://www.suicidology.org.

As a provider of behavioral health crisis intervention in specific communities, Nurse Response's behavioral health professionals, behavioral health technicians, and registered nurses assist consumers with acute behavioral health symptoms, 24/7. The Nurse Response team also serves as the Mobile Crisis Team Dispatch in communities where local crisis teams are available. Nurse Response dispatches teams for in-person evaluation of consumers in behavioral health crisis. The Mobile Crisis Team provides in-home or in-office assessment and support. Nurse Response supports this effort by coordinating the delivery of service for multiple communities, tracking the progress toward service delivery, and maintaining contact with the Mobile team to ensure their safety needs. Additionally, the team completes outbound calls to monitor consumer symptoms, stability and ensure linkage to services.

About Nurse ResponseNurse Response is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation that is in the business of providing multilingual telehealth services. We partner with health plans, hospitals, providers, colleges and universities, and other specialty organizations to ensure all callers have access to high quality, appropriate care. Our services are designed to encourage callers to become active participants in their healthcare, engaging in activities that promote appropriate utilization of care resources as well as better health outcomes for individuals and their families. We have provided uninterrupted service every day since 1995. Nurse Response experienced Customer Care Professionals and Registered Nurses at our call centers across the country provide Care.Right.Now. through delivery of health information, education, and advice in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner. For more information, please visit our website http://www.nurseresponse.com or contact us today at info@nurseresponse.com.