[robertrmorris]

Great questions, thank you. Looking only at completers creates selection bias, for the reasons you articulate. In published studies, we compare interventions to control conditions (ideally an “active” control, or something that has some purported therapeutic benefit). We love the Trevor project and work hard to get candidates on our platform to that resource. We have done some comparisons with other life lines and the issue is some have incredibly long wait times and drop-offs. Ideally, we can offer both. For the suicide prevention lifeline, we’re a resource that’s listed that people can access while they wait.

It is very true that self-injury is not the same as suicidal ideation, though they can certainly overlap. A common thought is that asking about suicide or presenting resources could be harmful or ‘trigger’ more ideation. The evidence to date suggests, on the contrary, that asking about suicide can actually reduce risks. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24998511/ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-...