How people live with or get over being suicidal: a review of qualitative studies

Lakeman, Richard; Fitzgerald, Michael

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04773.x

Cited by 84 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…However, few studies have investigated the suicidal process by conducting qualitative interviews with survivors of suicide attempts (Lakeman & Fitzgerald 2008;Rivlin et al 2013). Still, fewer studies have been conducted with older people in this way (Crocker et al 2006;Im & Kim 2011;Sun & Long 2013).…”

Section: Towards a Prospective Lens To Improve Understanding Of Protementioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide in older people: Revisioning new approaches

Deuter

Procter

Evans

et al. 2016

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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This discussion paper identifies and examines several tensions inherent in traditional approaches to understanding older people's suicide. Predicted future increases in the absolute number of elderly suicides are subject to careful interpretation due to the underreporting of suicides in older age groups. Furthermore, a significant number of studies of older people's death by suicide examine risk factors or a combination of risk factors in retrospect only, while current approaches to suicide prevention in the elderly place disproportionate emphasis on the identification and treatment of depression. Taken together, such tensions give rise to a monologic view of research and practice, ultimately limiting our potential for understanding older people's experience of suicide and suicidal behaviour. New approaches are necessary if we are to move beyond the current narrow focus that prevails. Fresh thinking, which draws on older people's experience of attempting to die by suicide, might offer critical insight into socially-constructed meanings attributed to suicide and suicidal behaviour by older people. Specifically, identification through research into the protective mechanisms that are relevant and available to older people who have been suicidal is urgently needed to effectively guide mental health nurses and health-care professionals in therapeutic engagement and intervention.

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Section: Towards a Prospective Lens To Improve Understanding Of Protementioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide in older people: Revisioning new approaches

Deuter

Procter

Evans

et al. 2016

Int J Mental Health Nurs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…These include a record of call duration, the caller's sex, age if known, brief record of the reason given for the call, and the volunteer's subjective assessment of where the caller is located on a seven point scale of emotional distress (Samaritans 2012). It is organizational policy that all contacts should include a question about whether the caller Leaving aside the difficulty and accuracy of assessing the volunteers' subjective judgements on the basis of calls which are frequently of no more than a few minutes duration (Fairbairn 1995;Fairbairn 1998;Appleby et al 1999;Cooper and Kapur 2004;Samaritans, 2004;Freedenthal 2007;Freedenthal 2008;Lakeman and Fitzgerald 2008), it is clear that the majority of contacts to Samaritans fall outside the formal service remit: most callers are not assessed to be in a state of crisis when they contact the organization. Data from previous analysis of calls undertaken within Samaritans correspond with findings in the literature relating to both Samaritans and other suicide crisis helplines in reporting a substantial proportion of calls to be from frequent and repeat (rather than new) callers, especially women, and those with psychiatric illness (Holding 1974;de Anda and Smith 1993;Hall and Schlosar 1995;Mishara 1997;Samaritans 2004;Watson et al 2006;Fakhoury 2007;Ingram et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Configuring the caller in ambiguous encounters: Volunteer handling of calls to Samaritans emotional support services

Pollock

Moore²,

Coveney

et al. 2013

CAM

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This paper discusses volunteer strategies for handling and assessing calls to Samaritans emotional support services for the suicidal and despairing. It presents findings from the qualitative components of a twoyear mixed methods study based on an online caller survey, branch observations and interviews with volunteers and callers throughout the UK. A thematic analysis of the qualitative data analysis was undertaken using the principle of constant comparison. Many calls fell beyond the primary remit of a crisis service, and called for rapid attribution and assessment. Uncertainty about identifying 'good' calls and recognizing those which were not caused difficulty, frustration and negative attribution towards some callers. This paper presents our analysis of volunteers' accounts of how they configure the caller in intrinsically uncertain and ambiguous encounters, and how such strategies relate to the formal principles of unconditional support and non-judgemental active listening espoused by the organization.Keywords: active listening; helplines; negative attribution; Samaritans; self-protection; suicide; volunteering IntroductionSamaritans is a volunteer-based charity established in the UK in 1953 as a crisis support service for the despairing and suicidal (Varah 1988;Armson 1997). In 2011, 15,516 volunteers in 202 branches throughout the UK responded to 2,868,899 dialogue 1 contacts from callers (Samaritans 2012). The majority (83%) of dialogue contacts are by phone, but email and SMS text messages are increasing and callers may also make contact by letter or by visiting a branch. Volunteers aim to provide a confidential, anonymous, nondirective, active listening service which offers callers the opportunity to reflectively explore their feelings of emotional distress and so, ideally, gain insight into how they may start to address their difficulties and 'move on' in their lives. Samaritans hope that their emotional support will help callers to identify options other than suicide, and a core aim of the service is to work towards a reduction in deaths by suicide.However, another key principle is respect for self determination. Only the caller has the authority and responsibility to make decisions about his own life, including the judgement that his best interests are to end it. Unlike many suicide crisis helplines (de Anda and Smith 1993;Mishara 1997;King et al. 2003;Barber et al. 2004;Kalafat et al. 2007;Ingram et al. 2008), Samaritans will not advise or actively intervene to deflect a caller who declares intent to die by suicide. Volunteers aim to offer the caller unconditional, nonjudgemental acceptance and support. However, the caller remains in charge of his/her life, both in defining the nature of their problems, and taking responsibility for decisions about how best to deal with these (Nelson and Armson 2004;Samaritans 2009).In view of the anonymous and confidential nature of the service the information available to Samaritans about individual callers is very limited. National statistics are co...

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“…Elles permettent de proposer une synthèse des différentes études qualitatives sur une question intégrant différents points de vues de participants, différents points de vue culturels, et ainsi de transformer les résultats des études incluses en connaissances plus abstraites, plus absolues, plus formalisées et plus généralisables [8,11,12]. Une méta-synthèse a été publiée sur la question du suicide de l'adulte [13], insistant sur la nécessité de reconnexion du patient avec son entourage.…”

Section: Contexteunclassified