A Comprehensive Guide to Suicidal Behaviours: Working with Individuals at Risk of Suicide and their Families

Over a million people commit suicide every year, making it the tenth leading cause of death worldwide. For this reason and many others besides, an understanding of the act is vital, especially for professionals working with depression and mental health problems. This books sensitively and intelligently covers issues associated with suicide, seeking to facilitate understanding and enable effective communication with those who may be considering it. Beginning with a chapter on genetics and suicide, the book explores how the decision to take your own life can come about. It goes on to discuss classifying suicide, suicidal ideas, and myths surrounding the act, clarifying what is true, and what is often nothing more than ill-informed rumour. Bullying and protective factors are also discussed, and groups at risk of suicide are identified. The book concludes with a practical guide for the evaluation of suicidal risk, appealing to both parents and professionals, and the final chapter deals with the bereavement that so often follows. This book will be essential reading for anybody who has come into contact with suicide, and will be particularly useful for those working with depressed patients in need of guidance.

David Aldridge is a social science researcher and the author of many books including Suicide: The Tragedy of Hopelessness also published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers based upon his doctoral thesis at the Open University, UK. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, London. Sergio Pérez Barrero graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Havana in 1976. He is a Professor of Psychiatry and founder of the Suicidology Section in the World Psychiatry Association (WPA).