The Suicidal Person

Compelling, compassionate, and comprehensive. Not only is Konrad Michel’s book a must read for clinicians and researchers but it is written so accessibly that anyone affected by suicide will benefit from The Suicidal Person. Michel takes the reader on a journey of his career, what he has learned, the development of his innovative treatment but also his experiences of loss, including the devastating loss of his son to suicide. An incredible synthesis of forty years of research and practice. -- Rory O'Connor, University of Glasgow, author of When It Is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do to Prevent It
In his extraordinary book, The Suicidal Person, Dr. Konrad Michel has written a unique volume that fully displays his decades of clinical acumen, innovation in clinical research, leadership in the field, as well as his humanity and wisdom. Dr. Michel has an uncanny ability to integrate noteworthy clinical insights and scientific truths, while writing with a common touch that makes this book both readable and relatable. This text is relevant to a remarkably wide audience from clinical professionals, to researchers, to people who struggle with suicide, and to those who are touched by suicide either directly or indirectly. This book is a treasure—a gift actually—to anyone who cares about the human condition, the perils of suffering, the promise of recovery and life. -- David A. Jobes, professor of psychology and director of the Suicide Prevention Laboratory, The Catholic University of America, Washington DC
Dr. Michel offers a rare blend of clinical wisdom, poignant personal experience, empirical evidence, and essential practicality in a compelling volume that will prove invaluable to clinicians assessing and treating those struggling with suicidality. This book represents the distillation of three-plus decades of clinical work and applied research into an easy to understand and deliver model for the care of those questioning the value of life. Most importantly, it’s an approach that recognizes the enduring vulnerability of being human, our unavoidable connections to one another, and that compassion is the necessary foundation to reducing the tragedy of suicide. Michel’s practical and empirically informed approach is applicable across all clinical contexts and should be a must-read for anyone working with suicidal individuals. -- M. David Rudd, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and President Emeritus, University of Memphis
The Suicidal Person chronicles Konrad Michel's lifelong quest to find a new way of helping self-destructive patients. Trained as both empirical scientist and empathic psychotherapist, Dr. Michel has over a five-decade career sought out the most brilliant thinkers in contemporary suicidology and joined with them to reconceptualize the suicidal mind. He integrates both biological and psychological perspectives in a deceptively simple treatment method that emphasizes the therapist's intensely respectful curiosity about the suicidal patient's experience and their collaboration as equals in developing a shared understanding of that experience. Dr. Michel's humble yet powerful approach offers patients liberation from the life-threatening vortex of suicidality. -- J. Michael Bostwick, professor of psychiatry, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
The Suicidal Person is a remarkable hybrid of autobiographical, scientific, clinical, and theoretical gems based on Dr. Michel's decades of experience. It will deepen your understanding of how people can become suicidal—and how you can help. Suicidologists, clinicians, psychotherapy students, loved ones, and people who themselves have suicidal thoughts will all benefit from learning about Dr. Michel’s journey and his compassionate, client-centered treatment for people in danger of suicide. -- Stacey Freedenthal, author of Helping the Suicidal Person: Tips and Techniques for Professionals and Loving Someone with Suicidal Thoughts: What Family, Friends, and Partners Can Say and Do
Offers much research-based, sound advice for clinicians on how to engage patients more effectively, making therapy more helpful in stemming the suicide tide. * Choice Reviews, the American Library Association (ALA) *
Conveys powerful messages about the neurobiology of suicide that run parallel with compassion and human connection during critical moments of the suicide experience. This book is essential reading for all who provide clinical care… from a world leading suicidologist. * Crisis *