How can poor treatment of mental illness increase the risk of suicide?

Higher risk of suicide can be linked to inadequate, inappropriate, or incomplete treatment of mental illness. Suicide may follow when a person does not have adequate outpatient follow-up after a suicide attempt, when the level of medications is insufficient, or when persons do not fill their prescriptions or take prescribed medications. In addition, controversial studies of the class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) show that a possible side effect may be increased risk of suicidal thoughts or attempts.