Editing Mental Health and Psychosocial Nursing (section)

=== Interventions ===
* Institute the ordered observation level, most often continuous one-to-one within arm's reach, including in the bathroom.
* Remove means: belts, shoelaces, cords, glass, sharps, plastic bags, medications, lighters. Search belongings per policy.
* Environmental safety: breakaway shower rods and hooks, tamper-resistant fixtures, no anchor points, shatterproof glass.
* Count and observe medication administration; check the mouth for cheeking.
* Use a '''collaborative safety plan''' identifying warning signs, internal coping strategies, supportive contacts, professional and crisis contacts, and specific means-restriction steps. '''No-suicide contracts are not evidence-based and should not be relied on for safety.'''
* Recognize the '''high-risk window in the first days to weeks of antidepressant therapy''', when energy and initiative return before mood lifts, and the elevated risk in the weeks after psychiatric discharge.
* Antidepressants carry a boxed warning for increased suicidal thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults up to age 24; monitor closely and educate families (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2018).
* After a suicide death, provide postvention support to survivors and staff.