Suicide: Psychodynamic Theories & Perspectives
Alison Feit, PhD
“The psychoanalytic theories of suicide prove, perhaps, only what was already obvious: that the processes which lead a man to take his own life are at least as complex and difficult as those by which he continues to live. The theories help untangle the intricacy of motive and define the deep ambiguity of the wish to die but say little about what it means to be suicidal, and how it feels.” A. Alvarez, The Savage God
The pain of existence can make it hard to go on, to push forward. Few who do not suffer from such anguish can truly understand what it means to hold on to hope at such moments. Pulitzer-winning poet Galway Kinnell (February 1, 1927–October 28, 2014) was an exception. In an attempt to give hope to a student of his who was on the verge of suicide, he wrote the beautiful poem “Wait” which begs for, almost pleads, for time by enticing the reader with it langauge. The last lines read: “ Wait. Don’t go too early. You’re tired. But everyone’s tired. But no one is tired enough. Only wait a while and listen. Music of hair, Music of pain, music of looms weaving all our loves again.Be there to hear it, it will be the only time,most of all to hear,the flute of your whole existence, rehearsed by the sorrows, play itself into total exhaustion.”
This course will provide an overview of the psychoanalytic theories of suicide, helping us examine how we as clinicians can help our patients with Kinnell’s “music” and through our work provide the curiosity, drive and empathy necessary for our patients to desire once again – to be “flute of (their) whole existence”.
BACK BY DEMAND:
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
Fee: $60 for 2.0 Credit Hours
Location: In-Person or Virtually via Zoom
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this seminar, participants will be able to:
- Reflect on their personal and professional assumptions about suicide.
- Report at least three facts about the epidemiology of suicide.
- Identify a number of factors that might contribute to the development of suicidality in an individual.
- Understand different psychoanalytic approaches to suicide and their implications for theory and practice.
- Understand the psychological struggles of two prominent 20th century figures who committed suicide.
Basic epidemiology and overview of suicide
-Bachman S. (2018). Epidemiology of Suicide and the Psychiatric Perspective. International journal of environmental research and public health 15(7), 1425
-Maltsberger, J.T. (2004). The descent into suicide. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 85(3):653-667 (This article was read by some class participants in a former course, but is included here for those who have not as yet read it.) Selected psychoanalytic perspectives on suicide
-Bateman, A. and Fonagy, P. (2013). Mentalization-Based Treatment. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 33(6):595-613
-Briggs, S. (2006). “Consenting to its own Destruction”: A Reassessment of Freud’s Development of a Theory of Suicide. Psychoanalytic Review, 93(4):541-564
-Winnicott, D.W. (1974). Fear of Breakdown. Int. Rev. Psycho-Anal., 1:103-107
-Kay, J. (1989). Self-Psychological Perspectives on Suicide. Progress in Self Psychology, 5:169-186 (Chapter 10)
-Goldblatt, M. (2010). Suicide and masochism: The evolving relationship between guilt, suffering, self-attack and suicide. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 24(2):93-100 A window into treatment, those we have lost and those left behind
-Titelman, D. (2006). Primo Levi’s Loneliness: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Suicide- Nearness. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 75(3):835-858
-Feirstein, F. (2016). A Psychoanalytic Study of Sylvia Plath. Psychoanalytic Review, 103(1):103-126
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.” The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s)* to disclose with ineligible companies* whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
*Financial relationships are relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company.
Click HERE for Continuing Education Credit details.
