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The author reports on his thirty years' experience in dealing with threatened and consummated suicide at the Suicide Prevention Center in Los Angeles. He found that rapid intervention at the pre-suicidal stage frequently results in natural recovery in relatively well-adjusted persons who are in true psychological crisis. However, follow-up studies of patrons of the author's crisis intervention telephone service revealed that this approach often fails to avert the death of chronically mentally ill, suicidal persons. The central element of the care of the latter group is a long-term, stable doctor-patient relationship that actively confronts the patient's mental disorder. An extended treatment team that includes the patient's relatives is useful to support both doctor and patient in this undertaking. Extensive, detailed clinical records are necessary to provide the base for periodic clinical review of the patient's condition. The contemporary trend toward less frequent and briefer hospitalization seems not to have influenced the suicide rate at all. Litman offers specific advice for dealing with suicidal tendencies in patients who suffer from chronic depression, drug and alcohol abuse, schizophrenia, and personality disorders.