Similar to the different suicide rates in Europe (also in EU countries) also the European suicide attempt rates in various areas are quite different. The results of the WHO Multicentre Study on Suicidal behaviour show a ratio between the catchment area with the highest suicide rates (Tallin) and the catchment area with the lowest rates with 1: for males and 1: for females. Over the period covered by the study the rates changed, however the rank order between the various catchment areas remained stable, thus showing that the differences can not only be caused due to different assessment procedures. In all catchment areas the suicide attempters belonged more often to the lower social classes, were more often unemployed and showed in general more detrimental social factors. Repetition of suicide attempts were often made in a relatively short period after the first suicide attempt. One reason for this can be that the time lag before the uptake of the first psychotherapeutic treatment (appointment) for many cases was very long, more than 20% of the patients had the first psychotherapeutic treatment only after six months. Also the stability of the therapeutic contacts was not very consistent after the suicide attempt: many patients had contacts with more than five care providers. This pattern changed only a little during the period under investigation.