Suicide contagion, the suicide pact and the effects of suicidal behaviour in therapeutic and family relationships

This article is about suicide and relationships. How suicidal thoughts and behaviours can impact relationships for the suicidal person and those around them. This includes relationships between the suicidal person and other suicidal people as well as the suicidal person and others who are non-suicidal. How the suicidal can impact the other and how the other in turn then impacts the suicidal person back. What effects they have on each other in terms of how they think and feel and then how that effects their transactions with each other. More specifically it examines suicide clusters, suicide pacts, suicidality in the therapeutic relationship and suicidality in family relationships.

Clergy as Suicide Prevention Gatekeepers

801 U.S. Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergy reported on their suicide gatekeeping activities. Using vignettes, they identified suicide risk and selected interventions for three risk levels. Two-thirds of the sample who provide counseling reported at least one contact from a suicidal person per year. Clergy were significantly more concurrent with experts in identifying risk and selecting interventions with high risk but deviated more from the experts with low and medium risk. Most reported needing more training.

Effects of the Mental Health First Aid for the suicidal person course on beliefs about suicide, stigmatising attitudes, confidence to help, and intended and actual helping actions: an evaluation

Background Suicide is a significant concern in Australia and globally. There is a strong argument for training community gatekeepers in how to recognise and support suicidal people in their social network. One such training course is the Mental Health First Aid for the Suicidal Person course. This course was developed using suicide prevention best practice guidelines based on expert opinion (determined using the Delphi Method). Methods We evaluated the impact of attending the Mental Health First Aid for the Suicidal Person course on suicide literacy and stigma, confidence in and quality of intended and actual helping behaviours towards a person who is suicidal, and course satisfaction. Surveys were administered before and immediately after the course, and at 6-month follow-up. Data were analysed to yield descriptive statistics (percentages, means, standard deviations), with linear mixed models and generalized linear mixed models being used to test the statistical significance of changes over occasions of measurement. Results We recruited 284 participants from workplaces and general community networks. The mean age was 41 years and 74% were female. 85% of people undertook the course as part of professional development, and almost half (44%) did the course because they had contact with a suicidal person. The majority (59%) of participants had previous mental health and suicide prevention training. The majority of participants held knowledge (suicide literacy) before undertaking the course. The major effect of training was to strengthen this knowledge. There was a significant improvement from pre-course (M = 1.79, SD 0.56) to post-course (M = 1.48, SD 0.82, p < 0.0001), which was maintained at follow-up (M = 1.51, SD 0.49, p < 0.0001). Confidence in gatekeeper skills significantly improved after the course and at follow-up (M = 3.15, SD 0.95 before the course to M = 4.02, SD 0.68 afterward and 3.87, SD 0.77 at follow-up, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001, respectively). The quality of intended helping behaviours significantly improved from pre-course (intended actions M = 4.28, SD 0.58) and to post-course (M = 4.70, SD 0.50, p < 0.0001) and were maintained at follow-up (M = 4.64, SD 0.41, p < 0.0001). There was significant improvement in some of the actions taken by participants to help a suicidal person from pre-course to post-course (e.g. asking about suicidal thoughts and plan, contacting emergency services). The course was highly acceptable to participants. Conclusion These results indicate that this course is an acceptable intervention that delivers a broad spectrum of beneficial outcomes to community and workplace gatekeepers.

On suicide-related reasoning of a suicidal person

I give some brief comments on the subjective rationality in suicidal persons.

Social perceptions of suicide among the university student in Gaza Strip (A field and descriptive study)

This descriptive, analytical study aimed to identify the social perceptions of suicide for a university student in the Gaza Strip, the sample size 101 students was chosen purposively, a social perception questionnaire for suicide was used for the university student (Zuhair, 2008). The main results of this study were as follows: 67% believe that suicide is a response resulting from a personal problem, 93% of the sample agree that suicide is the choice of death intentionally, 90% of the sample agree that the suicide sees suicide as a means of freedom from his suffering, 60% Of the sample, they agreed that suicide, according to the suicide, is an assertion of its own in its own way, 66% agree that severe anxiety often leads to suicide, 79% agree that suicide is a rebellion against social norms, 88% agree that youth are the most vulnerable group to suicide, 61.5% of the sample collectively That suicide affects males more than females, 63% have indicated that the failure of the emotional relationship causes young people to commit suicide, 91% of them agree that suicide hinders the movement for the growth of societies. On the other hand, 43.5% say that the media in Gaza avoids talking about the problem of suicide, 78% agree that the issue of suicide in Gaza is one of the issues that shame families, 82% considered that suicide is a criminal act against society as a whole, 90% agreed that the suicidal person touches his religion and his family. The study agreed 100% that one can fight the idea of suicide by adhering to the principles of the Islamic religion, and the study concluded that there is a difference in the social perception of suicide for a university student. The study recommended the necessity of working towards achieving a comprehensive suicide prevention response targeting all groups of Palestinian society, especially the youth.

Family psychoeducation after a suicide attempt

Family can play an important role in supporting a person at-risk of suicide, as well as through treatment and recovery after a suicide attempt. This text provides an overview of the impact a suicide attempt can have on the family and the needs of family carers. Examples of psychosocial interventions for people, mostly adolescents, who have made a suicide attempt and their families are presented along with psychoeducational materials developed for family carers, whose emotional proximity may hinder and/or facilitate engagement with the suicidal person. Although several interventions are promising, further research into the effectiveness of psychoeducational interventions and family involvement after a suicide attempt is warranted.

Understanding the phenomenon of suicide

Background and objective: Suicidality and suicidal behavior have long been studied extensively, as they are considered the main cause of premature death throughout the world. Death by suicide seems to have always been part of human behavior. The earliest known report of a suicide was written 4000 years ago on papyrus. Still, despite the rich literature on the topic, prevention or prediction of suicide are still hard and sometimes impossible. To date, there is still no theoretical model that encompasses all possibilities of the phenomenon. Material and methods: This study aim was to present studies of Professor Israel Orbach who was one of the pioneers in the research of suicide and a leading theoretician in the field of suicide. Results: Studies point to numerous variables involved in suicidal behavior and in the suicidal act that the interaction between those variables promotes a destructive process that leads the individual to act in a self-harming manner. The research of mental pain and the inability to moderate it are the main contributions to the field of suicide, alongside with dissociation process which by its presence, increases the probability of suicidal behavior. Conclusion: Numerous theories and models attempt to describe the process leading to the act of suicide, but the unknown is still larger. The fact that in most cultures suicide and suicidal behavior are still considered taboo, something to hide and be ashamed of, is a tragedy for the suicidal individual as well as his or her family, and other close people, as it impedes identification, treatment and prevention. It may be even more of a tragedy and harder to comprehend and accept, when the suicidal person is an otherwise healthy adolescent who has his whole life ahead of him or her. Therefore, any bit of new information and knowledge added to the field of suicidality is another layer in the understanding of the process, mechanism and dynamics of this subject and contributes to the improvement of prevention, treatment, and to assistance to those in distress and maybe help in stopping suicide from becoming a pandemic.