Lifesaving turning points: First-person accounts of recovery after suicide attempt(s).

This study explores the recovery processes of persons who had attempted suicide. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight persons who had attempted suicide and the data were analyzed by means of systematic text condensation. The participants described lifesaving turning points, which were connected to meaningful relationships, taking control over one's own life, and establishing a new everyday life. Suicide prevention efforts must be adapted to individual needs. First-person knowledge is important if we are to understand what is seen as helpful and should be emphasized when implementing suicide prevention work.

A call for change from impersonal risk assessment to a relational approach: professionals' reflections on the national guidelines for suicide prevention in mental health care in Norway.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to explore how professionals working with suicide prevention experience the influence of the national guidelines on mental healthcare, and to gather recommendations for which steps to take next. METHODS: This is a qualitative study with an explorative design. We interviewed 22 professionals responsible for implementing suicide prevention action plans and guidelines, and/or conducting relevant research. We analysed the data by means of thematic analysis. RESULTS: We found that the participants had an ambivalent view on risk assessment-it may be a tool, but it may also compromise other important aspects in prevention. Moreover, the possibility of liability has resulted in the need for self-protection. Instead, the participants recommended a relational approach to suicide prevention. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the emphasis on standardized suicide risk assessment has negatively influenced suicide prevention in mental healthcare, and an approach emphasizing relational aspects is recommended. However, the prevailing objectifying concept of knowledge, the epistemological debate and the emergence of the New Public Management ideology may obstruct a fundamental emphasis on relationships. A paradigm shift in mental healthcare is called for with respect to the concept of knowledge, which forms our understandings and practices.

" I felt completely stranded": liminality and recognition of personhood in the experiences of suicidal women admitted to psychiatric hospital.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how patients experience their suicidality and how they experience being in a psychiatric hospital.Methods: This is part of a field study, and the article is based on data collected in interactions with 11 women who were admitted to a psychiatric hospital and were struggling with suicidality. Data were collected through interviews, conversations, and participatory observation. We analysed the data by means of Systematic Text Condensation, followed by a deductive process where the data and preliminary findings were interpreted in light of the theory of liminality.Results: We found that the patients' experiences of suicidality and being a patient in a psychiatric acute ward involve "Liminality and weakened sense of personhood," and from their perspective, "Recognition of personhood" is an important aspect of care.Conclusion: Our study indicates that suicidality and psychiatric hospitalization involve liminality and weakened sense of personhood, aspects that are important to consider in the care of the patients. Professionals need to acknowledge more the importance of recognition of personhood in care, since this can strengthen the patient's self-worth and empower the person. Lack of recognition may increase the patient's suffering and suicidality.

The emperor's new clothes? A critical look at the interpersonal theory of suicide.

The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide currently seems to be the most popular theory in suicidology. It posits that suicide can be explained by the simultaneous presence of three risk factors only, namely acquired capability for suicide, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness. Suicide is, however, widely accepted as a complex, multifactorial, and contextual phenomenon. It is, therefore, surprising that a theory comprised by three internal factors only is so uncritically embraced by suicide researchers. In this article, we scrutinize the theory's background, core components, and purported empirical evidence and argue that its popularity is highly unwarranted.

An escape from agony: a qualitative psychological autopsy study of women's suicide in a post-conflict northern Uganda.

We set out to investigate suicide among women in a post-conflict context in Northern Uganda using qualitative psychological autopsy interviews. Three to five relatives and friends for each of the three suicides recruited were interviewed (N=11). Through interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) we found that the women all had been through traumatic experiences attributable to the protracted war/conflict between the rebel groups and Ugandan Government armed forces. Nevertheless, the decision of self-inflicted death seemed to have been due to a combination of unpleasant experiences/events that prevailed within the last 3 months prior to the suicide. These experiences are summarized in two broad themes: No control in life and No care. Changes in the traditional gender roles, men's quest for their lost masculinity, and women's attempt to fight for their rights that was perceived as a cultural transgression contributed to the women's suicides.