In this exploratory commentary a distinction is made between those who strongly advocate mental illness as the main cause of suicide and psychiatry in general. For example, a medical modellist asserted the above claim, while a psychiatrist made the following headline: “psychiatrist warns that ‘nothing’ is working in bid to address suicide rates” (Stuff.co.nz, 2017). Clearly, the psychiatrist was referring to the failings of the medical model which has dominated suicide prevention strategy for decades in New Zealand and elsewhere.