Counseling Suicidal People

Suicidal intentions are most often prompted by a desperate need for relief from intensely painful feelings. Surviving suicidal thoughts is about learning how to find relief without resorting to suicide. Simply having suicidal thoughts does not mean you will act on them.

Can We Really Prevent Suicide?

However, the habit of repeatedly thinking about suicide is a risky one. Repetition brings a sense of falsely comforting familiarity. It dulls the instinctive recoil from danger. Though it may be difficult, hold on to the belief that there ARE ways to resist suicide and find relief.

It is important to be able to identify if someone you love is at risk of committing suicide. This section will give some tips on what to look for and some ideas about how to help someone who is suicidal. There are many warning signs people can exhibit when they are suicidal. We urge the potential suicide to live in order to justify ourselves. Emotional exhortations based upon our own needs are futile. You may be tempted to try to rescue your friend by telling him or her, for example, that her or she is a good person and that life is worthwhile. Because he or she is feeling so hopeless, your efforts are likely to be dismissed.

A more effective way to speak to someone who is suicidal is to first fully acknowledge the depth of his or her pain. This helps him or her to feel understood and gives him or her permission to talk about the unthinkable — suicide. What are your reasons for living?

Or, refer your friend for counseling. If your friend is a student, walk him or her to the UCC or call the on-call Urgent Crisis number at If The Answer Is: Get Help for Yourself and Your Friend If your friend is imminently suicidal, then the crisis is serious and represents an immediate emergency.

Helping Someone in a Suicidal Crisis

Suicide prevention, he says, is a Therapy of Hope. He concludes the book noting that those who work with suicidal people are nothing less than agents of hope. The power of faith. While he doesn't talk about faith in God, he speaks about expressing a confidence that the client will get well. This is not because of some kind of belief in the process, but rather a belief in the future and a belief in the client.

How Do I Become a Suicide Counselor?

This ties in closely with the concept of hope. The value of non-suicide contracts. He explains their place and how to both negotiate and carry one out. The place of appropriate touch. He speaks of an arm around the shoulder as a communicative sign of compassion and concern. He speaks of putting a monkey-wrench into the plans of the client. The issue of shame. He spends a little ink on talking about rethinking shame.

The concept of re-framing. He talks about ways to give a client new perspective to see the problem from a different vantage point. Quinnett ends the book noting that he is "chronically optimistic" about suicidal people, seeing the suicide crisis as "a terrible thing to waste.

Counseling Suicidal People, A Therapy of Hope: Paul G. Quinnett: www.newyorkethnicfood.com: Books

Paul frequently came to mind: I recommend the book. Excellent book with many useful techniques for Crisis Intervention or anyone dealing with people in crisis. The authors respect, and love of his work shines through every page. We may not be able to change the world but we can sure change by one if we can save a life. Five stars for sure. Should be mandatory reading for any undergraduate or graduate program in the "helping profession" ie. Thoughtful, concrete, easy to read, best-practices!

• Overview of Part 1;
• Counseling Center!
• I tragici greci (eNewton Classici) (Italian Edition).
• Helping Someone in a Suicidal Crisis // University Counseling Center // University of Notre Dame.
• Socioanalytic Methods: Discovering the Hidden in Organisations and Social Systems?
• Swords of the Dead;
• Why Do We Need Suicide Counseling?.

Hands down, the beat book I've read on the subject in my 20 years of practice. Quinnett is one of my favorite authors on the subject.. Excellent resource for anyone. Helpful book with lots of practical applications. A great book with highly accessible language and simple instruction for anyone who seeks to keep others safe from suicide.