Approximately one million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and at least ten times as many attempt suicide. A considerable number of these people are in contact with members of the healthcare sector, and encounters with suicidal individuals form a common part of the everyday work of many healthcare professionals. Suicide: An unnecessary death examines the pharmacological, psychotherapeutic, and psychosocial measures adopted by psychiatrists, GPs, and other health-care staff, and emphasizes the need for a clearer psychodynamic understanding of the self if patients are to be successfully recognized, diagnosed, and treated.

Drawing on the latest research by leading international experts in the field of suicidology, this new edition provides clinicians with an accessible summary of the latest research into suicide and its prevention. The abundance of new literature can make it difficult for those whose clinical practice involves daily contact with suicidal patients to devote sufficient time to penetrating the research and, accordingly, apply new findings in their clinical practice. In light of the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, this new edition is a timely contribution to the field, and a vital and rapid overview, that will increase awareness of suicide prevention methods.

Danuta Wasserman, Professor of Psychiatry and Suicidology, National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Professor in Psychiatry and Suicidology at Karolinska Institutet (KI), Danuta Wasserman is the Founding Head of the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP) at KI, Stockholm, Sweden since 1993. She is also the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research, Methods Development and Training in Suicide Prevention, and expert advisor to the WHO Office in Copenhagen and Geneve since 1995. Professor Wasserman was President of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) from January 2013 - January 2014. She is a former President of the International Academy of Suicide Research (IASR) and is also Honorary President of the Swedish-Estonian Institute of Suicidology. On a National and Nordic level, Professor Wasserman has built up a National Centre for Suicide Research and the Prevention of Mental Ill-Health and a strong Nordic research network on the prevention of mental disorders.

Section I Epidemiology
1. Suicide in the world, Alexandra Fleischmann
Section II Theoretical models of suicide behaviour
2. Stress-vulnerability model of suicidal behaviours, Danuta Wasserman and Marcus Sokolowski
3. The suicidal process, Danuta Wasserman
4. Neurobiology of suicide and attempted suicide, J. John Mann and Victoria Arango
5. Social dimensions of suicide, Ilkka Henrik Makinen
Section III Risk groups for suicide
IIIA Psychiatric disorders
6. Depression, bipolar disorders and suicide, Danuta Wasserman
7. Alcohol, other psychoactive substance use disorders and suicide, Danuta Wasserman
8. Anxiety and suicide, Jan Fawcett
9. Eating disorders and suicide, Danuta Wasserman
10. Adjustment disorders and suicide, Danuta Wasserman
11. Suicide risk in schizophrenia, Alec Roy and Maurizio Pompili
IIIB Personality disorders
12. Personality disorders and suicide, Danuta Wasserman
IIIC Somatic disorders
13. Physical illnesses and suicide, Jouko Lonnqvist
Section IV Risk situations for suicide
14. Negative life events and suicide, Danuta Wasserman
15. Suicidal people's experiences of trauma and negative life events, Danuta Wasserman
16. Attempted suicide as a risk factor for suicide, Lars Mehlum
17. Immigrant populations and suicide, Ahmed Hankir and Dinesh Bhugra
18. Suicide in the Criminal Justice System, Marco Sarchiapone
19. Suicide in the Armed Forces, Vsevolod A. Rozanov
Section V Age-related suicide
20. Adolescent suicide and attempted suicide, Alan Apter and Yari Gvion
21. Older adults and suicide, Siobhan T. O'Dwyer and Diego De Leo
Section VI Suicide Risk Assessment
22. Suicide risk assessment, Danuta Wasserman
23. The suicidal patient-doctor relationship, Danuta Wasserman
24. Heuristics and biases in suicide risk assessment, Gergo Hadlackzy
25. Psychometric scales in suicide risk assessment, Per Bech, Lis R. Olsen, and Goran Hogberg
26. Strategies in suicide prevention, Danuta Wasserman
Section VII Health care perspective
27. Pharmacological treatment of underlying psychiatric disorders in suicidal patients, Hans-Jurgen Moller
28. Psychological Treatments for Suicidal Individuals, Megan Chesin, Andriy Yuryev, and Barbara Stanley
29. Education of general practitioners in depression and suicide prevention, Wolfgang Rutz and Zoltan Rihmer
30. Collaboration between psychiatrists and other physicians, Jean-Pierre Soubrier
31. The work environment for healthcare staff, Danuta Wasserman
32. A psycho-educational perspective on family involvement in suicide prevention and postvention, Karl Andriessen and Karolina Krysinska
Section VIII Public Health Perspective
33. Perestroika in the former USSR: history's most effective suicide-preventive programme for men, Danuta Wasserman and Airi Varnik
34. Controlling the environment to prevent suicide, Annette L. Beautrais
35. Suicide prevention through the Internet, Vladimir Carli
36. Suicide prevention in schools, Danuta Wasserman and Veronique Narboni