Suggested Reading - Prevention

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call:

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (English)988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (Spanish)
Visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website.

Notice: The Office of Suicide Prevention website is informational and not intended as a crisis response or hotline. 

Books

Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide by Kay Redfield Jamison - published by Knopf (1999)

After years of struggling with manic-depression, Dr. Jamison tried - at age twenty-eight - to kill herself. Now she brings all of her knowledge and research to bear on this devastating problem. This book helps us to understand the suicidal mind, to recognize and come to the aid of those at risk, and to comprehend the profound effects on those left behind.

Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, Postvention by Earl Grollman - published by Beacon Press (1988)

Offers advice on how to recognize the warning signs of potential suicide attempt, how to intervene when a suicide has been attempted, and how to comfort families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide.

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Suicide Assessment and Intervention by Douglas G. Jacobs, M.D., Editor - published by Jossey-Bass (1999)

Guide for determining the risk for and intervening against suicide. For clinicians, topics include: working with adolescents, the physically ill, and major mental illness. Also addresses somatic treatment of the suicidal patient. Includes an account from a professional who has attempted suicide herself.

Treatment of Suicidal People by Antoon Leenaars - published by Hemisphere Publications (1994)

Addresses the treatment of suicidal people in three forms-- prevention, intervention, and postvention (care after the suicide attempt has occurred), with emphasis on intervention. Presents a lengthy case study of one suicidal man based on his personal diary, offers guidelines for evaluation of risk, and covers sustained psychotherapy, clinical and legal issues.

Treatment Approaches With Suicidal Adolescents by James Zimmerman, and Gregory Asnis, - published by John Wiley & Sons (1995)

This practical guide reviews current knowledge regarding the biological, psychological and social risk factors for adolescent suicide. Contains clinical guidelines for a variety of treatment modalities such as crisis intervention; psychopharmacological management; intervention; family-centered, psychodynamic, cognitive/behavior and group therapies.

Why Suicide?: Answers to 200 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Suicide, Attempted Suicide, and Assisted Suicide by Eric Marcus - published by Harper San Francisco (1996)

A nonjudgemental guide for people whose lives have been touched by suicide. It offers practical answers to such related concerns as what to tell others, preventability, and what to do with suicidal feelings.

Survivor Support