Overview

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.

Full Product Details

9780335190324

Table of Contents

Reviews

...first rate: scholarly, insightful with delightful literary touches...and always with an eye to the struggling practitioner. - Professor Stuart Rees ...sources are extensive, drawing on empirical research, knowledge acquired from professional practice and contributions from literature, poetry and history. This weighty combination of ingredients has produced a richly substantial work. - Community Care Colin Pritchard has written a book about suicide that should provide psychiatric social workers with a balanced and multi-disciplinary approach to the subject that it is to be hoped will help them in their vital task of reducing Britain's low but much too high suicide rate. - Reviewing Sociology I enjoyed reading the book, and would recommend it to those with a particular interest in suicide. - Journal of Public Health Medicine Pritchard has accomplished the difficult feat of producing a book that should appeal to a wide variety of professionals, including psychiatric trainees. - British Journal of Psychiatry ...a very useful starting point for debate, and make it 'recommended reading' on student reading lists. - Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing (Generation of PM publication page 223) ...a thoroughly professional piece of work which ought to be read by every serving chaplain. - Royal Navy Chaplains Book ...this informed, packed book has much to recommend it. - Journal of Social Work Practice ...refreshingly cross-national in its perspective. - Contemporary Psychology Pritchards book informed me of what appropriate professional health and social services would look like and so helped me to help young people know what to ask for. - Youth and Policy.

Author Information

The Author Colin Pritchard holds the foundation Chair in Social Work Studies at Southampton University. He is a practising Psychiatric Social Worker, and this practice base is essential to his teaching and research. His work includes international comparisons of suicide, child abuse, cot deaths, truancy and drug misuse, all topical and important areas of debate.

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