Suicide Prevention in Bipolar Disorder

Suicide prevention is widely recognized as a critical component of care for people with bipolar disorder. However, significant gaps in knowledge and clinical practice hinder effective implementation. These include a lack of clarity as to:

1) HOW to deliver targeted suicide prevention efforts;

2) WHO should be involved in organizing and delivering these interventions;

3) WHAT interventions are most effective specifically in the area of bipolar disorders;

4) WHEN should these interventions be applied; and

5) WHERE barriers to implementation exist and ways to overcome them.

The ultimate goal of this Task Force is to develop clinical recommendations and practical resources specific to suicide prevention for people with bipolar disorder. The Task Force aims to achieve this goal by:

Use a Delphi or similar consensus-based methodology to identify effective clinical strategies and produce clinical recommendations for suicide prevention interventions for people with bipolar disorder.
Develop tools and resources to facilitate the implementation of these recommended strategies.
Disseminate recommendations and resources through multiple channels including publications, educational workshops and symposia presentations at the ISBD, International Association of Suicide Research, and other related annual conferences.
Collaborate with advocacy groups or organizations such as CREST-BD, DBSA, and others to increase public awareness and support broad dissemination.