How to Help the Suicidal Person to Choose Life: The Ethic of Care and Empathy as an Indispensable Tool for Intervention

How to Help the Suicidal Person to Choose Life: The Ethic of Care and Empathy as an Indispensable Tool for Intervention
Author: Kathleen Stephany
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2017-07-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1681085402

Suicide is a complex problem which is linked to socioeconomic problems as well as mental stress and illness. Healthcare professionals now know that the essential component of the suicidal person’s state of crisis is of a psychological and emotional nature. How to Help the Suicidal Person to Choose Life is a detailed guide to suicide prevention. The book recommends ethic of care and empathy as a tool for suicide intervention. Readers will learn about approaches that focus on suicide prevention that address the despairing emotional mind set of the suicidal person. Key features: • Features easy to understand learning guides for students • Emphasizes on suicide intervention strategies rather than identification of risk factors • highlights information from narrative case studies and psychological autopsies • includes practice and simulation exercises designed to enhance therapeutic modalities such as empathy, compassion, unconditional positive regard, connection, therapeutic alliance, the narrative action theoretical approach and mindful listening • Contains guidelines prescribed by the Aeschi working group for clinicians • Provides a list of bibliographic references and an appendix for other resources of information useful for suicide prevention This book is recommended for students and practicing professionals (in medicine, psychiatry, nursing, psychiatric nursing, psychology, counselling, teaching, social work, the military, police, paramedics etc.), and other first responders, volunteers or outreach workers who are confronted with situations where they have to assist people who are known or suspected of being suicidal.

Helping the Suicidal Person

Helping the Suicidal Person
Author: Stacey Freedenthal
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2017-09-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317353269

Helping the Suicidal Person provides a highly practical toolbox for mental health professionals. The book first covers the need for professionals to examine their own personal experiences and fears around suicide, moves into essential areas of risk assessment, safety planning, and treatment planning, and then provides a rich assortment of tips for reducing the person’s suicidal danger and rebuilding the wish to live. The techniques described in the book can be interspersed into any type of therapy, no matter what the professional’s theoretical orientation is and no matter whether it’s the client’s first, tenth, or one-hundredth session. Clinicians don’t need to read this book in any particular order, or even read all of it. Open the book to any page, and find a useful tip or technique that can be applied immediately.

Reducing Suicide

Reducing Suicide
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2002-10-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309169437

Every year, about 30,000 people die by suicide in the U.S., and some 650,000 receive emergency treatment after a suicide attempt. Often, those most at risk are the least able to access professional help. Reducing Suicide provides a blueprint for addressing this tragic and costly problem: how we can build an appropriate infrastructure, conduct needed research, and improve our ability to recognize suicide risk and effectively intervene. Rich in data, the book also strikes an intensely personal chord, featuring compelling quotes about people's experience with suicide. The book explores the factors that raise a person's risk of suicide: psychological and biological factors including substance abuse, the link between childhood trauma and later suicide, and the impact of family life, economic status, religion, and other social and cultural conditions. The authors review the effectiveness of existing interventions, including mental health practitioners' ability to assess suicide risk among patients. They present lessons learned from the Air Force suicide prevention program and other prevention initiatives. And they identify barriers to effective research and treatment. This new volume will be of special interest to policy makers, administrators, researchers, practitioners, and journalists working in the field of mental health.

American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines

American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines
Author: American Psychiatric Association
Publisher: American Psychiatric Publishing
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1996
Genre: Medical
ISBN:

The aim of the American Psychiatric Association Practice Guideline series is to improve patient care. Guidelines provide a comprehensive synthesis of all available information relevant to the clinical topic. Practice guidelines can be vehicles for educating psychiatrists, other medical and mental health professionals, and the general public about appropriate and inappropriate treatments. The series also will identify those areas in which critical information is lacking and in which research could be expected to improve clinical decisions. The Practice Guidelines are also designed to help those charged with overseeing the utilization and reimbursement of psychiatric services to develop more scientifically based and clinically sensitive criteria.

The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide

The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide
Author: Yogesh Dwivedi
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2012-06-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 143983881X

With recent studies using genetic, epigenetic, and other molecular and neurochemical approaches, a new era has begun in understanding pathophysiology of suicide. Emerging evidence suggests that neurobiological factors are not only critical in providing potential risk factors but also provide a promising approach to develop more effective treatment and prevention strategies. The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide discusses the most recent findings in suicide neurobiology. Psychological, psychosocial, and cultural factors are important in determining the risk factors for suicide; however, they offer weak prediction and can be of little clinical use. Interestingly, cognitive characteristics are different among depressed suicidal and depressed nonsuicidal subjects, and could be involved in the development of suicidal behavior. The characterization of the neurobiological basis of suicide is in delineating the risk factors associated with suicide. The Neurobiological Basis of Suicide focuses on how and why these neurobiological factors are crucial in the pathogenic mechanisms of suicidal behavior and how these findings can be transformed into potential therapeutic applications.

Suicide

Suicide
Author: Danuta Wasserman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2016-01-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191026832

Approximately one million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and at least ten times as many attempt suicide. A considerable number of these people are in contact with members of the healthcare sector, and encounters with suicidal individuals form a common part of the everyday work of many healthcare professionals. Suicide: An unnecessary death examines the pharmacological, psychotherapeutic, and psychosocial measures adopted by psychiatrists, GPs, and other health-care staff, and emphasizes the need for a clearer psychodynamic understanding of the self if patients are to be successfully recognized, diagnosed, and treated. Drawing on the latest research by leading international experts in the field of suicidology, this new edition provides clinicians with an accessible summary of the latest research into suicide and its prevention. The abundance of new literature can make it difficult for those whose clinical practice involves daily contact with suicidal patients to devote sufficient time to penetrating the research and, accordingly, apply new findings in their clinical practice. In light of the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, this new edition is a timely contribution to the field, and a vital and rapid overview, that will increase awareness of suicide prevention methods.

Improving Care to Prevent Suicide Among People with Serious Mental Illness

Improving Care to Prevent Suicide Among People with Serious Mental Illness
Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2019-04-19
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309486947

Suicide prevention initiatives are part of much broader systems connected to activities such as the diagnosis of mental illness, the recognition of clinical risk, improving access to care, and coordinating with a broad range of outside agencies and entities around both prevention and public health efforts. Yet suicide is also an intensely personal issue that continues to be surrounded by stigma. On September 11-12, 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss preventing suicide among people with serious mental illness. The workshop was designed to illustrate and discuss what is known, what is currently being done, and what needs to be done to identify and reduce suicide risk. Improving Care to Prevent Suicide Among People with Serious Mental Illness summarizes presentations and discussions of the workshop.

Suicide by Self-Immolation

Suicide by Self-Immolation
Author: César A. Alfonso
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2021-02-02
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 303062613X

This book addresses biopsychosocial and transcultural determinants of suicide by self-immolation, populations at risk throughout the world and prevention strategies specifically designed for young women in fragile environments. Self-immolation, the act of burning oneself as a means of suicide, is rare in high-income countries, and is usually a symbolic display of political protest among men that generally receives international media coverage. In contrast, in low- and-middle-income countries it is highly prevalent, primarily affects women, and may be one of the most common suicide methods in regions of Central and South Asia and parts of Africa. Psychiatric conditions, like adjustment disorders, traumatic stress disorders, and major depression, and family dynamics that include intimate partner violence, forced marriages, the threat of honor killings, and interpersonal family conflicts in a cultural context of war-related life events, poverty, forced migration and ethnic conflicts are important contributing factors. Written by over 40 academic psychiatrists from all continents, sociologists, and historians, the book covers topics such as region-specific cultural and historical factors associated with suicide; the role of religion and belief systems; marginalization, oppression, retraumatization and suicide risk; countertransference aspects of working in burn centers; responsible reporting and the media; and suicide prevention strategies to protect those at risk.

Helping People Overcome Suicidal Thoughts, Urges and Behaviour

Helping People Overcome Suicidal Thoughts, Urges and Behaviour
Author: Lorraine Bell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2021-03-30
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1000363112

Helping People Overcome Suicidal Thoughts, Urges and Behaviour draws together practical and effective approaches to help individuals at risk of suicide. The book provides a framework and outlines skills for anyone working with adults who present with suicidal thoughts or intent. Part 1 introduces a basic understanding of our knowledge about suicide and UK policy; Part 2 outlines the research into the treatment of suicidality and the general principles for working in the safest possible way. Part 3 outlines ten key psychological skills in the context of evidence-based best practice. The book also discusses the role of health and social care professionals in the prevention of suicide in the context of Covid-19. The book will be a valuable addition to the resources of professionals including psychotherapists, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, prison and probation officers, drug and alcohol workers, general practitioners and support staff in any health or social care context.

Clinical Manual for Assessment and Treatment of Suicidal Patients

Clinical Manual for Assessment and Treatment of Suicidal Patients
Author: John A. Chiles
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2018-08-23
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1615372024

Since the first edition of Clinical Manual for Assessment and Treatment of Suicidal Patients was published in 2005, advances have been made that increase our understanding of suicidal and self-destructive behavior. Although clinicians cannot unerringly predict which patients will die by suicide, they can focus more successfully on early identification of suicidal behavior and effective intervention, and this new edition of the clinical manual thoroughly explores not only assessment of suicidality but what comes after an at-risk patient has been identified. The authors argue that treating specific psychiatric disorders is not enough to prevent suicide, and they offer clinicians the necessary information and strategies to bridge that gap. The authors' main premise is that suicide is a dangerous and short-term problem-solving behavior designed to regulate or eliminate intense emotional pain -- a quick fix where a long-term effective solution is needed -- and this understanding is the underpinning of the assessment and treatment strategies the authors recommend. The content of this new edition has been thoroughly reviewed and revised, and substantive changes have been made to specific chapters to ensure that the book represents the most current thinking and research, while retaining the strengths of the previous edition. The chapter on assessment has been revised to put the fundamental components of effective treatment in a clinical, case-oriented context and includes an easy-to-use assessment protocol that allows clinicians to determine where individual patients stand on seven dimensions (cognitive rigidity, problem-solving deficits, heightened mental pain, emotionally avoidant coping style, interpersonal deficits, self-control deficits, and environmental stress and social support deficits). The many issues involved in the use of psychotropic medications in suicidal patients are addressed in a new chapter, which includes information on the relevant classes of drugs (such as antidepressants and antianxiety agents) and the issues that may arise with their use, including side effects, degree of lethality, and tendency to aggravate suicidality on introduction and withdrawal of the medication. The chapter on special populations has been expanded to include adolescents, elders, and patients with co-occurring substance abuse or psychosis. Because of additional vulnerabilities, treating these groups may call for the use of added or special techniques to ensure the best therapeutic outcomes. Primary care physicians are the first point of contact for many patients, and they may require additional preparation in order to assess and respond to those experiencing suicidal thoughts. The chapter "Suicidal Patients in Primary Care" explores strategies for screening, recognizing, and assessing risk; treating the initial crisis; and developing a crisis management plan. "Tips for Success" appear at intervals, and "The Essentials" are included at the end of each chapter, highlighting the most important concepts. In addition, there are scores of helpful charts and exercises. Practical, accessible, and reader-friendly, the Clinical Manual for Assessment and Treatment of Suicidal Patients is not an academic book but rather is one designed to become an indispensable part of clinicians' working libraries.