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Table 2 Behavioral recommendations in dealing with a suicidal patient

From: Development of a pre-hospital emergencies protocol for the management of suicidal patients in Iran

• Introduce yourself, explain your role and the help that you can provide

• Talk in a calm and confident tone

• Invite the patient to talk about his/her problem

• Pay attention to patient’s cultural and religious conditions (such as the need for covering, maintaining a minimum distance with patient, not touching an opposite sex patient if Muslim)

• Reduce external stimuli and existing noise as much as possible

• Ask the police to stay out of patient’s sight (if the presence of police makes patient irritable and restless)

• Do not leave patient alone

• Do not make false promises to calm patient

• Take any threat of suicide attempt seriously

• Encourage patient to provide information of relatives who can help