Suicide - The Ultimate Rejection?: A Psycho-social Study - Tapa dura

This is an interdisciplinary text based on Colin Pritchard's first-hand experience both as a practising psychiatric social worker and as a social worker. It provides an analysis of current research on suicide, exploring possible "causes" and examining how best to intervene. International rates of suicide are examined as the author looks at suicide in a cross-cultural context, showing how it is differently understood in different ethnic groups, reflecting various degrees of stigma. The author argues for greater recognition of these key differences between cultures and ethnic groups, and shows how important they can be to our understanding and intervention. This text explores the concepts of prediction and prevention, and asks how the current health and community services might work to reduce the number of suicides in line with the targets set by the government's "Health of the Nation". Different approaches to intervention and treatment are considered, with emphasis on those which research has shown to be the most promising. Special attention is given to the families of the victim, and in the final pages a wider view of suicide which includes euthanasia is explored. Using new research, the author examines the practical and moral issues raised by euthanasia. This book should be of interest to students of social work, psychiatric nursing, health visiting and medicine, as well as health professionals and counsellors.

Colin Pritchard holds the Foundation Chair in Social Work Studies at Southampton University.