Suicide Prevention

This page has the following information.

Thinking about Suicide | Safety Plan and Suicide Safer Homes | Finding a Therapist | Advice and Resources from Suicide Attempt Survivors

Thinking about Suicide

If you are thinking about suicide, have thought about suicide before, or are concerned someone you know might be thinking about suicide, know that help is available.

The Department of Health does not provide crisis services, but you can get help for yourself or to support someone else by calling or texting 988 or chatting online.

The 988 Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24/7, 365 days a year. Anyone can use the 988 Lifeline to get support.

When you contact the 988 Lifeline, you’ll also have the option of getting support from special helplines:

• To reach the Veterans Crisis Line, press 1 when calling or texting or chat online
• To reach the Spanish Line, press 2 when calling or texting or chat online
• To reach the LGBTQI+ Youth Subnetwork, press 3 when calling or texting. When chatting online, check the box that says “For LGBTQI+ people under age 25…” in the pre-chat survey.
• To reach the Native & Strong Lifeline, press 4 if you’re calling from a Washington area code. This line is staffed by Native crisis counselors and serves all Indigenous people in Washington state.

Learn more about suicide prevention in Tribal communities in Washington by visiting Native & Strong. This Washington state campaign was created for Native people in Washington. On the website, you'll find suicide prevention information and more resources, including a toolkit, tips for getting help, and guidance on supporting loved ones in crisis.

Other ways to get support

You can also get help by:

• Texting “HEAL” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
• Calling Teen Link at 866-TEENLINK (866-833-6546) and asking to talk to a peer. This helpline is for people under age 21 in Washington state.
• Calling the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. This line supports transgender people experiencing a crisis.
• Calling the Washington Poison Center at 800-222-1222. This line provides free, confidential help 24/7/365 to reduce harm from poisoning.

Visit the Hotlines, text, and chat resources for more information.

Safety Plan and Suicide Safer Homes

If you or someone in your home is thinking about suicide or has had thoughts of suicide in the past, you can create a safety plan and reduce access to lethal means to stay safe. Lethal means are objects or substances people could use to harm themselves.

• Now Matters Now: This website includes stories from people who’ve experienced thoughts of suicide and research-based ways for dealing with mental health crises. It also has a guide for creating a safety plan.  You can work on safety planning before a crisis happens, and you can include your friends and family. Most safety plans are 1-2 pages. Start with this blank safety plan from Vibrant Emotional Health or find other templates online. You can also ask a therapist for a safety plan template.
• Safer Homes Coalition: This Washington  task force is dedicated to promoting safe storage of medications and firearms to prevent suicide.
• King County Lock It Up: This website provides data and information on safe storage of firearms, along with some best practice tips for storing firearms in your home. 
• Emergency Risk Protection Order: This protection order prevents people with a high risk of harming themselves or others from getting firearms. If family, household members, or police has evidence that someone may hurt themselves or others, they can get a court order to keep the person from accessing any firearms. 
• Means Matter: This website from the Harvard School of Public Health discusses commonly used means for suicide attempts and deaths. Reducing access to lethal means can go a long way toward helping prevent suicide. Along with information about suicide means and reducing access, this site also has recommendations for helping a family member stay safe.
• Prevent Firearm Suicide: This website from the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence offers facts, interventions, and resources for firearm-related suicide prevention.
• Follow-up Matters: Follow-up support after a mental health crisis can help people continue to stay safe and may reduce the risk of a future mental health crisis. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers follow-up services to all people who give their consent after a 988 contact, including suicide attempt survivors and people referred by third parties.  People who received a follow-up call from the 988 Lifeline reported less stress and a lower risk of suicide.

Finding a Therapist

• If you have health insurance, check with the insurance company to find out what therapy services and providers they cover.
• If you qualify for Medicaid, visit Apple Health for information on how to access treatment services.
• If your workplace has an employee assistance program, you should be able to get confidential counseling through it.
• If you go to a school or college with a counseling center or school counselors, they can help you find a counselor.
• You can contact your local crisis line or state mental health crisis line (by county) to get a therapy referral.
• You can find additional local resources with 211's online database.
• You can call the Washington Recovery Help Line for 24-hour emotional support and referrals to treatment and recovery services anywhere in the state.
• If you need to find a therapist and don't know where to start, you can visit the 988 Lifeline’s page of links to therapist directories.

Advice and Resources from Suicide Attempt Survivors

Increasingly, people who have been at risk of suicide are taking leadership in suicide prevention. These resources can help you take care of yourself and connect you with people who had similar experiences.

• Now Matters Now is a support network for people who had thoughts of suicide or emotions and problems that felt unsolvable. You can visit this page to read their stories, find research-based ways for managing the most painful moments of life, and learn Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills.
• A Journey Toward Health and Hope (PDF) is a booklet that offers interactive, practical tools for recovering and moving forward after surviving a suicide attempt.
• The 988 Lifeline webpage also offers resources and self-care tips from other attempt survivors.
• The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has a series of videos that feature stories from people who have lived experience with suicide and suicide loss.

More information

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