ABSTRACT
The quotation is from Robert Hale's ®rst chapter of this book. It sets the scene and de®nes the territory. From a psychoanalytic perspective, suicide must be understood as relational, emotional, having meaning and impacting powerfully on others. In this book, we aim to explore psychoanalytic approaches to understanding, treating and preventing suicide, to present international and contemporary perspectives on current psychoanalytic thinking and practice, and to elucidate the contribution that this makes ± and could make in the future ± to contemporary approaches to suicide prevention.
