Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative.pdf

Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative
by;
SK Goldsmith, TC Pellmar, AM Kleinman, WE Bunney, Editors, Committee on Pathophysiology & Prevention of
Adolescent & Adult Suicide, Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health



Every year, about 30,000 people die by suicide in the U.S., and some 650,000 receive emergency treatment after
a suicide attempt. Often, those most at risk are the least able to access professional help.

Reducing Suicide provides a blueprint for addressing this tragic and costly problem: how we can build an
appropriate infrastructure, conduct needed research, and improve our ability to recognize suicide risk and
effectively intervene. Rich in data, the book also strikes an intensely personal chord, featuring compelling
quotes about people s experience with suicide. The book explores the factors that raise a person s risk of
suicide: psychological and biological factors including substance abuse, the link between childhood trauma and
later suicide, and the impact of family life, economic status, religion, and other social and cultural
conditions. The authors review the effectiveness of existing interventions, including mental health
practitioners ability to assess suicide risk among patients. They present lessons learned from the Air Force
suicide prevention program and other prevention initiatives. And they identify barriers to effective research
and treatment.

This new volume will be of special interest to policy makers, administrators, researchers, practitioners, and
journalists working in the field of mental health.