Resource Tag: AMBIVALENCE

The authors argue that general prohibition of suicide sites on the Internet is neither practicable nor reasonable. They suggest stricter vigilance by site owners & better promotion of prevention & help-group sites. The roles of psychiatrists, parents, & teachers in monitoring patients’/children’s Internet consumption are discussed, & the national & international legal options for preventing […]

In this phenomenological study, formerly suicidal participants asked, “What was helpful in suicidal healing?” Their stories of healing were analysed thematically. The metaphor of “A Journey Away From the Self” describes their suicidal processes as disconnection from others & from the self. The “Return to Self” describes their healing as reconnection with others & with […]

Published in “Suicide Risk & Protective Factors in the New Millennium,” ed. by O T Grad

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand how suicidal patients experienced their lives after attempted suicide. 10 participants were interviewed over a 5-month period about their experiences & feelings after their suicide attempts. 3 main themes were found: a) being controlled by others versus striving to live for oneself, b) being rebuffed […]

The present study examined whether young adults’ own history of suicidal ideation, gender, social history with suicide, & ambiguity of the disclosure would predict their response to a hypothetical suicidal peer. The data revealed significant effects of ambiguity & participants’ suicidal ideation on the confidants’ response strategy. The confidants’ experience with others’ attempted or completed […]

This chapter suggests several ways to communicate with people with schizophrenia during treatment. 5 vignettes of interviews with schizophrenic patients are presented. A discussion of relaxing & addressing ambivalent patients is included. Questions for assessing suicidal risk in schizophrenic patients are suggested. Frequency, duration, & responses to suicidal thoughts are identified as important factors in […]

This paper outlines four particularly salient clinical themes underlying despair in young people, that have significant implications for treatment. A practice perspective is discussed which emphasizes empathic listening & the development of a strong therapeutic alliance with the adolescent. Treatment recommendations draw from narrative theory & practice, & from feminist perspectives. The paper also draws […]

This article presents evidence that people contemplating suicide experience the same psychological stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression & acceptance that people dying from other causes (such as terminal diseases) experience. A summary of Kubler-RossÕ (1969) model of these stages is presented. (7 refs) (SC)

The author argues that a basic difficulty with legalizing physician-assisted suicide has gone largely ignored: that it is impossible to presume that anyone can realistically identify severely ill individuals seeking lethal drugs from the physicians in order to die, & to do so willingly, knowingly, & voluntarily. This article explores the two main reasons that […]

The author considers how people are assumed to cope following a meaningful loss. Specifically, the following bereavement theory assumptions are examined: that shock or denial is inevitable following loss; that letting go & acceptance is necessary, & that working through loss is an adaptive process requiring cognitive, emotional, & physical energy in re-establishing to the […]

Mandating psychiatric evaluation for patients who request physician-assisted suicide may not offer the clearcut protection from possible coercion or other abuse that proponents assert. Competence itself is a complex concept & determinations of decision-making capacity are not straightforward, nor is the relationship between mental illness & decision-making capacity in dying patients clearly understood. Casting psychiatrists […]

This article describes a suicide assessment & training model, sequenced with respect to expertise & cognitive psychology principles. The initial interview, assessment of depression & suicidal ideation, & identification of relevant risk factors & interventions are all considered. Affectively based interventions, although rarely discussed in the literature, are emphasized here: these intervention strategies complement more […]

This paper discusses the internet resources on suicide & the issue of interactive notes. Case examples of interactive notes followed by suicide fatalities are used to illustrate the potential influence of the internet on those who wish to share their suicidal ideation with others. Issues to do with modeling, ambivalence, group death wishes, research, and […]

The primary aim of Befrienders International is to be available to offer emotional support to those passing through personal crisis & in imminent danger of taking their own lives. This article discusses 3 factors that characterize the suicidal (ambivalence, sense of isolation, & feelings of compulsion), suggests ways for crisis line volunteers to interact with […]

This book is written directly to people who are considering suicide. The author addresses questions that such a person may ask, such as “Don’t I have the right to die?” and “Am I absolutely sure?” Reasons why one might be at such a stage are discussed: loneliness, depression, anger, stress, drugs/alcohol, and hopelessness. One chapter […]

Psychiatric inpatient suicides have unique features compared with suicides that occur among outpatients. A number of factors play a role in determining whether inpatients will kill themselves. Central to suicide is ambivalence. Several factors influence ambivalence: interactions with professionals, environmental safeguards, biological therapies, & external support & the patients’ perception of these factors. A proposed […]

Networking systems for Native suicide prevention is discussed. Brant emphasizes that mobilization of community resources is the only way that one will reduce the pain of psychiatric disorders in communities. Psychiatrists in Native communities are usually viewed as outsiders, and thus few people will see them. Thus, enlisting the cooperation of the community leaders who […]

Maltsberger discusses the legal & ethical problems associated with the hospitalization &/or discharge of suicidal patients. In some cases it may be ethical, but not legally prudent, to discharge these patients. In other cases the benefits of discharge can be demonstrated to outweigh the risks of continued confinement. Examples of patients suffering from depression, schizophrenia […]

This book is written for people bereaved because of the suicide of a significant other. The content of the book includes a discussion of: reactions to suicide, for example denial, guilt & shame; emotional responses to suicide, e.g. depression & ambivalence; problems in the healing process, i.e. anniversary reactions or self-neglect; the suicide of parents, […]

The author discusses the ambivalence of significant others toward the person who completes suicide. Her message to survivors is to take care of themselves; to put their own healing process first & not defend the victim at their own expense or at the expense of significant others or the truth. Chance says the suicide is […]

Each suicide threat or completion touches family members traumatically & the disruption naturally carries into the workplace in some way. This article notes that the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) professional must be prepared to provide an array of services such as crisis intervention, suicide risk assessment, short term intervention, systematic education, & referral. Suicidal messages, […]

Suicide risk in borderline personality disorder is appreciable. Borderline patients also make many manipulative suicide threats that pose serious therapeutic challenges. Therapists must cope with patients’ paradoxical assertions & must develop an accurate “risk thermostat” to guide them in fashioning optimal interventions. Guidelines & case examples are offered. (21 refs.)

Euthanasia is reviewed from both legal and medical perspectives. The author seeks to demonstrate that patients who seek the right to die are generally only seeking a means to end their pain or dependence on others. The author argues that it is especially important to distinguish the theoretical exercise of the right to die from […]