As we reported yesterday, a new study has discovered that in the first month of treatment, suicide attempts decrease. No matter what the treatment — antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy:

Suicide attempts were most likely during the month before treatment started, falling by at least 50 percent in the month after treatment began, with steady declines thereafter.

This passes the smell test, since we would expect most people to be most depressed leading up to their decision to finally seek treatment. It also makes sense that, immediately after beginning treatment (e.g., one month), people feel better. Just talking to someone and taking the proactive measure of getting help makes a person feel better often, even if the same depressive symptoms are still present.

The people most likely to attempt suicide were those being seen by a psychiatrist. The researchers attribute this to the fact that psychiatrists tend to see more severe cases of depression, while less severe cases are often just handled by a family doctor.

I could buy that rationale, but in truth, the study doesn’t answer the question as to why more people who see psychiatrists attempt suicide. That is an excellent question for a future study, however.

Furious Seasons also comments.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 3 Jul 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.