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Phenomenology of Suicide pp 187–201Cite as

A Collaborative Approach to Working with the Suicidal Mind

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Abstract

The phenomenology of the suicidal mind is central to many effective clinical approaches for suicidal risk. In this chapter we review this notion through a consideration of broad perspectives of the phenomenology of suicide offered by Edwin Shneidman and the collective perspective of the “Aeschi approach” to suicidal risk. We then examine phenomenological aspects of specific theoretical perspectives for suicidal risk including psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral, and mentalization approaches. This chapter concludes with an examination of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) approach to suicidal risk. Perhaps more than any other clinical method, CAMS fundamentally embraces the phenomenology of suicidal states by always emphasizing the patient’s perspectives on suicidal suffering in direct relation to clinical assessment and treatment. Various challenges in clinical practice with suicidal patients are considered, and CAMS is offered as a potential remedy for issues of countertransference, power struggles, and fears of being sued (or blamed) following a death by suicide. Throughout this chapter, the overarching importance of understanding the suicidal mind through the eyes of the patient is a unifying focus for effective clinical assessment and treatment of the suicidal risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Catholic University of America, 314 O’Boyle Hall, Washington, DC, 20064, USA

    David A. Jobes Ph.D., A.B.P.P, Brian M. Piehl & Samantha A. Chalker

Authors
  1. David A. Jobes Ph.D., A.B.P.P
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  2. Brian M. Piehl
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  3. Samantha A. Chalker
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Correspondence to David A. Jobes Ph.D., A.B.P.P .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Maurizio Pompili

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Jobes, D.A., Piehl, B.M., Chalker, S.A. (2018). A Collaborative Approach to Working with the Suicidal Mind. In: Pompili, M. (eds) Phenomenology of Suicide. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47976-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47976-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47975-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47976-7

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