Barriers to and Facilitators of Mental Health Treatment Among Suicidal Individuals

Many suicidal individuals do not access outpatient treatment, and those who do often do not receive empirically supported treatments for reducing suicide risk. Few studies have investigated the barriers to and facilitators of outpatient mental health (MH) treatment among suicidal individuals. We used a survey to understand the experiences of those with a history of suicidal ideation. Participants (N = 111) with a history of suicidal ideation during adulthood answered questions about their history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), MH treatment, and their perceptions of barriers to and facilitators of treatment. We found that participants who reported a lifetime suicide attempt endorsed greater barriers to (t(106) = 2.76, p = .003) and weaker facilitators of (t(109) = -1.8, p = .037) receiving outpatient treatment for STBs; additionally, attitudinal barriers were associated with having made a suicide attempt (OR = 3.47, 95% CI [1.18, 10.20], p = .024). These results emphasize the importance of efforts to bolster facilitators and mitigate barriers to treatment for STBs. Future work should continue to elucidate treatment barriers and facilitators to improve treatment engagement for suicidal individuals.