Alternatives to Suicide: Beyond Risk and Toward a Life Worth Living

Description

Alternatives to Suicide: Beyond Risk and Toward a Life Worth Living demonstrates how fostering resilience and a desire for life can broaden and advance an understanding of suicide. The book summarizes the existing literature and outlines a new focus on the dynamic interplay of risk and resilience that leads to a life-focus approach to suicide prevention. It calls for a treatment approach that enhances the opportunity to collaboratively engage clients in discussion about their lives. Providing a new perspective on how to approach suicide prevention, the book also lays out key theories on resilience and the interplay of risk and protective factors. Finally, the book outlines how emerging technologies and advances in data-analytic sophistication using real-time monitoring of suicide dynamics are ushering the field of suicide research and prevention into a new and exciting era. Cover Alternatives to Suicide: Beyond Risk and Toward a Life Worth Living Copyright Contributors Acknowledgment Part 1 1 - Suicide is about life Suicide is less about death and more about life Ideation to action is only one pathway Ideation to non-action is the most common pathway The ethics of balancing risk-centric with life-oriented approaches to suicide Beyond risk and toward a life worth living Conclusion References 2 - The implicit suicidal mind clings to life What underlies variations in d/s-IAT scores? Does the death/suicide IAT reveal a desire to die, or a diminished desire to live? Is the association between the d/s-IAT and suicide risk mediated by zest for life or acquired capability for suicide, or both? Method Participants Procedure and measures Overview of analyses Results Most participants exhibit an implicit self-association with life Is the association between the death/life IAT and suicide risk mediated by acquired capability for suicide and/or zest for ... Which is the stronger mediator of suicide risk: acquired capability or zest for life? Discussion References 3 - Zest for life: an antidote to suicide? Development of the Zest for Life Scale Method Measures Results The mediating and moderating role of Zest for life in the prospective link from interpersonal risk factors and acquired cap ... Method Results Does zest for life moderate the relationships between the mental preparation facet of acquired capability and suicidal idea ... Discussion Zest for life as an antidote to suicide Appendix: the Zest for Life Scale (ZLS) References Part 2 4 - The temporal dynamics of the wish to live and the wish to die among suicidal individuals The fluid vulnerability theory of suicide The wish to live as a component of the suicidal mode Fluctuations in the wish to live and the wish to die Homeostatic regulation of the wish to live and the wish to die Implications for suicide prevention Summary and future directions References 5 - Daily monitoring of the wish to live and the wish to die with suicidal inpatients The dynamic balance of the wish to live and the wish to die in a non-clinical sample The dynamic balance of the wish to live and the wish to die in emergency care patients Daily monitoring of the wish to live and the wish to die in an inpatient setting Method Participants Procedure and measures Results Comparing patients who remain stable in one of the four response profiles on variables of distress, suicidal ideation, and ... How do patients shift between the four profiles over the three-day period? Discussion Toward a multidimensional and fluid conceptualization of suicidal desire Conclusions References 6 - Alternatives to suicide: a nonlinear dynamic perspective Introduction Nonlinear dynamic systems Nonlinear dynamics of suicidal processes Implications of NDS on suicide risk assessment Ways out of and resilience to suicidal states Outlook References 7 - Connectedness and suicide Connectedness in major theories of suicide Empirical research on four forms of connectedness that are protective against suicide Sense of meaning and purpose in life Relationships Religion Employment Contemporary perspectives on connectedness and its measurement References Part 3 8 - Collaborative movement from ``preventing suicide'' to recovering desire to live A lived experience perspective Theoretical context A lived experience critique Implications for practice Pursue a therapeutic alliance Seek to gain and convey understanding of the reality and validity of the individual's suffering and desire for relief Build a partnership toward the shared goals Develop a safety plan to allow time for this work to be accomplished Collaboratively implement evidence-based, suicide-specific therapeutic strategies Conclusion References 9 - The ``alternatives to suicide'' approach: a decade of lessons learned References 10 - Psychological resilience to suicidal experiences What is psychological resilience? Psychological resilience to suicidal experiences: a mixed methods approach A multi-componential mechanistic approach to understanding psychological resilience to suicidal experiences The unidimensional `two poles' approach The two-dimensional, buffering, approach Recovery Psychological immunity Maintenance Evaluating the five resilience models Theoretical models of psychological resilience to suicidal experiences Evidence pertaining to the five dynamic suicide resilience models References 11 - Textual analysis of suicide notes: how a new approach could yield fresh insights? Researching suicide and its antecedents Research using suicide notes Importance of interpersonal relationships Classification of suicide deaths Limitations of suicide note research and directions for future research Conclusion References Part 4 12 - Self-determination and strengths-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention: an emerging evidence-based ... Introduction Cultural continuity and self-determination: healing collective trauma Colonisation and trauma Self-continuity and cultural-continuity Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide Strengths-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention Key success factors for indigenous suicide prevention Universal/indigenous community wide Selective - at risk groups Indicated - at risk individual Conclusion References 13 - Refugees and suicide: when the quest for a better life becomes thwarted Introduction Prevalence of psychopathology Factors associated with psychological distress The asylum/refugee status determination process and psychological distress Summary Prevalence of suicidal behavior Suicidal ideation Permanently resettled populations Non-permanently resettled populations Refugee camps Immigration detention Other Suicidal behaviors (self-injury, suicide attempts, and deaths by suicide) Permanently resettled populations Non-permanently resettled populations Refugee camps Immigration detention Permanently and non-permanently resettled populations living in host communities Pre-migration stressors and suicide risk Limitations Summary Correlates of suicide risk among asylum-seekers and refugees Substance abuse and suicide risk Sexuality, gender identity and suicide risk Social factors and suicide risk Social isolation Religiosity Unemployment The refugee determination process and suicide risk Time since arrival Applying for asylum Summary Conclusions and future directions References Part 5 14 - Epigenetics of suicidal behaviors Introduction Fundamentals of epigenetics DNA methylation Histone modifications Epigenetic studies of suicidal behaviors HPA axis Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling Polyamine system Serotonin system Additional targeted studies Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) Conclusions and future perspectives References Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z Back Cover