Policy regarding mention of suicide

[gonzales]

It seems like the consensus opinion is that mentions of suicidal ideation should not be deleted or addressed in a manner that implies a therapeutic effect. An alternative is to place the National Suicide Hotline, 1-800-784-2433, on the policy section of the board that can be referred to at any time. If the mods or admins would like to place the notice in a sticky somewhere else, that is fine with me. If the subject comes up, it will be appropriate from a board policy standpoint to refer the member to the National Suicide Hotline number.

I remain committed to avoiding management of suicidal thoughts on the board and request admins and mods to use their judgment when a thread gets too involved.

I placed the following language in the policy section of the board.

Suicidal ideation
Administrators and moderators of this board are not medical professionals and therefore are not capable of managing issues related to suicidal thoughts. Recognizing that many people with addiction issues feel sad or worse, actually have suicidal ideation, we will provide the National Suicide Hotline number, 1-800-784-2433, which can be referred to at any time by any member.

It is the policy of the Opiate Detox Recovery board to not initiate or participate in managing suicidal ideation through the board communication vehicles. Any attempt by a member to do so will only result in minimizing the desire for the individual to seek real professional care.

Scott Gonzales