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Working with Adolescents and Their Families in the Immediate Aftermath of a Suicide Attempt
Terror, anger, confusion, anxiety, and desperation are some of the feelings that family members express following a suicide attempt by a young adolescent. The mental health worker who has been working with the teen may be left to wonder - “What did I miss? What didn’t I do? What didn’t I see?...
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River Angel: Therapy and Loss in the Early Days of AIDS
It’s been 17 years since Keith Braverman* washed down a bottle of valium with a fifth of vodka, left his wallet and keys on his kitchen table, and jumped into the Hudson River. Keith wrote one suicide note, and it was addressed to me. He attached a postcard to the note: the two embracing angels...
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Are Bridges Suicide Magnets? They Don’t Have to Be!
Bridges are suicide magnets. But they don’t have to be. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has the unfortunate distinction of being the most popular suicide destination in the world. It has been the scene of 1,500 deaths by suicide, approximately 30 per year. Results from a comprehensive...
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National Action Alliance on Suicide Prevention Receives Suicide Care Report from Clinical Care and Intervention Task Force
Michael F. Hogan, PhD, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health co-chairs the Clinical Care and Intervention Task Force of the National Action Alliance on Suicide Prevention. In August of 2011 the Task Force completed a sweeping report entitled “Suicide Care in Systems...
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From the Publisher – Surviving Suicide: All Things Must Pass
We all walk a very thin line in our lives—a line of normal feelings and behavior. At any moment we might fall off that line and descend into the darkness of mental illness. For people with mental illness, their families and loved ones, this concept is well known. Brain chemistry, genetics, or...
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Predicting Suicide: Difficulties for Treatment Professionals
A widely quoted clinical aphorism is that there are two kinds of therapists: those who have experienced the loss of a patient to suicide, and those who haven’t yet. Although the expression sounds a bit nihilistic, this adage conveys a warning to those clinicians who have not experienced a...
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Suicide: More Common Than You Think, More Preventable Than You Know
Just how common is suicide you may ask? According to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: In 2007, there were 34,598 reported suicide deaths in the U.S. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24-year-olds, and this age group accounts for...
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Suicide Attempts and the Family
As an EAP (Employee Assistance Professional) Counselor, one of the most difficult situations is calls from people whose loved one is suicidal. In this article “family” is construed as people who are involved and concerned. Dealing with a loved one who is suicidal is one of the greatest...
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The NYSPA Report: Families of Suicided Soldiers to Get Letter of Condolence from President
During July of this year, President Obama announced that he would begin sending letters of condolence to the families of troops who kill themselves in combat zones. He noted that this was a decision that was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy and he added, “I did...
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Clinicians and Suicide Loss
For mental health professionals, the loss of a client to suicide is surprisingly common, if not an unfortunate occupational hazard. Studies show that one in five psychologists and counselors (Bersoff, 1999; McIntosh, 2000, McAdams and Foster, 2000) and one in two psychiatrists (Ruskin, 2004;...
