Depression, Suicide, and the National Service Framework: Suicide is Rare and the Only Worthwhile Strategy is to Target People at High Risk

This editorial begins by discussing some studies which examined lifetime risk for suicide in depressive disorders & then asks what the findings mean for the National Service Framework for Mental Health in the UK. It is suggested that a group with genuinely high suicide risks – individuals with severe mental illness at risk of readmission – are a suitable population for the study of intermedicate outcomes influenced by individual & team interventions. (10 refs.)