Suicide prevention sheds a longstanding taboo: Talking about attempts

The New York Times

The governing board of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) has voted to add a new division to the organization, representing people who have survived a suicide attempt. This decision opens the way to a fuller inclusion of survivors’ perspectives in presentations and conversations about suicide prevention.  “We as a field need to hear these stories,” said John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, “and not just to study them but to ask how they found a way to cope and connect: What did family and friends and doctors do that helped, and what did not?” There has long been a concern among prevention specialists that open discussion of suicide survivors’ experiences might be too emotionally dangerous for the speakers themselves and might trigger attempts by others. Heidi Bryan, a longtime public speaker about her own suicide attempts in the 1990s, noted: “This is a real shift you’re seeing… For people working in suicide prevention, they always told us not to talk about our own experience, like they were afraid to tip us over the edge or something. Honestly, we’re the ones who know what works and what doesn’t.” Reducing the stigma of mental illness is a priority in the prevention field, and some specialists hope that personal contact with survivors may be more effective than other forms of education in this area. William Schmitz, Jr., president of AAS, believes that survivors may have a unique role to play in prevention. “This is the best advertisement for getting treatment, showing that people get better and lead full, productive lives,” he said.

Spark Extra! Visit the AAS suicide attempt survivors blog.