ABSTRACT
What was she thinking? This simple yet essential question surely must have perplexed those who cared about Katie, not only after her death, but during her troubled life as well. Moreover, the question is of crucial significance to clinicians and scholars who would seek to understand her life and death and to prevent the premature deaths of others like her. We will begin with an overview of the empirical literature on cognition and suicide, illustrated with excerpts from Katie’s diary, and then proceed to a synthesis in the form of a cognitive case conceptualization. We will conclude with an examination of Katie’s failed attempts at self-improvement vis-à-vis the cognitive model.
