WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao is working to train 50 family doctors in recognizing and responding to mental health problems and suicidal behavior as part of efforts to strengthen suicide prevention and identify people at risk before they reach a crisis.
Psychiatrist Gabriel Rendon, Medical Director of Klinika Capriles, says early detection must eventually extend beyond healthcare professionals to teachers, police officers, social workers and people within communities who may be in a position to recognize warning signs.
Rendon, GGz Curaçao and the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN) are working with the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization through the Mental Health Gap Action Programme, known as mhGAP.
The program trains family doctors and other primary healthcare professionals to recognize mental health conditions and suicidal behavior. Participants also learn how to ask people about suicidal thoughts and what initial interventions can be used before specialized psychiatric care becomes available.
A third training round is scheduled for November, with the overall goal of reaching 50 family doctors.
Six people are also being trained locally to become trainers themselves: five family doctors and a communications adviser from GGz Curaçao. The intention is for them to subsequently spread that knowledge more widely across Curaçao.
No Dedicated 24-Hour Suicide Prevention Line
The initiative comes as Rendon says access to crisis assistance could also be improved.
Curaçao currently does not have a dedicated 24-hour suicide prevention hotline comparable to the Netherlands’ 113 service.
During office hours, people can generally seek assistance through PSI Skuchami or their family doctor. From approximately 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m., initial assistance is available through services including the Huisartsenpost and family doctors on duty.
The PSI Skuchami crisis service can subsequently be called in to assess the situation and advise on the appropriate next step.
Depending on the circumstances, this could include outpatient assistance, admission to the psychiatric PAAZ department at Curaçao Medical Center or referral to Klinika Capriles. In situations involving immediate physical danger or injury, emergency medical assistance is required.
Improving the accessibility and coordination of these services is among the issues addressed by Curaçao’s new National Suicide Prevention Policy Framework 2026–2030, Biba Bida.
Rendon believes early detection should eventually become a broader community responsibility. People outside the healthcare sector who regularly interact with children, families and vulnerable residents should also know how to recognize warning signs and where to direct someone for professional help.
Breaking the Silence Around Suicide
Another important part of prevention, according to Rendon, is reducing the stigma surrounding suicide and suicidal thoughts.
He rejects the belief that asking someone about suicide could put the idea into that person’s mind. Instead, carefully asking about suicidal thoughts can create an opportunity for someone experiencing distress to talk and seek assistance.
“If you don’t talk about it, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” Rendon said. “It actually gets worse.”
At the same time, he cautioned that public discussion must be handled responsibly. He warned against sensational reporting, descriptions of methods and locations, and the circulation of images related to suicide.
Rendon believes media coverage should also provide information about assistance, recovery and prevention rather than focusing exclusively on individual incidents.
The Biba Bida policy framework offers Curaçao an opportunity to improve the coordination of suicide prevention, but Rendon says implementation will require resources for better registration, interventions in schools and more accessible mental healthcare.
The broader objective is to create a system in which people experiencing suicidal thoughts can be identified earlier and directed toward appropriate assistance before their situation develops into an acute crisis.