ABSTRACT
Edwin S. Shneidman is recognized as the central figure in the field of suicidology. His writings have taught countless psychologists and other health professionals about the complexity of suicide, death and bereavement.
This collection of his writings spans the entirety of his career and offers a unique insight into the development of his thinking. The material is broken down into five parts: Psychological Assessment, Logic, Melville and Murray, Suicide, and Death and each section includes an introduction by the editor.
Lives and Deaths is a vital resource for those in suicidology and related fields, allowing the reader to sample a variety of selections from Shneidman's work in one compact volume. The book is ideal for classroom use by upper level undergraduates and graduate students in the history of suicidology or as a supplemental text in a general suicidology course. It is also of interest to clinicians treating high-risk patients as well as a more general audience including psychologists, social workers, crisis counselors and suicide prevention specialists.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|46 pages
Psychological Assessment
chapter Chapter 1|11 pages
A Note on the Experimental Study of the Appraisal Interview
chapter Chapter 2|13 pages
MAPS of the Harvard Yard
chapter Chapter 3|12 pages
Personality and “Success” Among a Selected Group of Lawyers
chapter Chapter 4|6 pages
The Psychological Pain Assessment Scale
part II|54 pages
Logic
chapter Chapter 5|23 pages
The Logic of Politics
chapter Chapter 6|5 pages
On “Therefore I Must Kill Myself”
chapter Chapter 7|24 pages
Melville's Cognitive Style: The Logic of Moby-Dick
part III|48 pages
Melville and Murray
chapter Chapter 8|24 pages
The Deaths of Herman Melville
chapter Chapter 9|12 pages
Some Psychological Reflections on the Death of Malcolm Melville
chapter Chapter 10|7 pages
A Possible Classification of Suicidal Acts Based on Murray's Need System
chapter Chapter 11|3 pages
Remarks at a Memorial Service for Henry A. Murray, Memorial Church, Harvard University, October 3, 1988
part IV|96 pages
Suicide: Section A: Definitional and Theoretical
chapter Chapter 12|3 pages
“Suicide” and “Suicidology“: A Brief Etymological Note
chapter Chapter 13|10 pages
A Formal Definition, with Explication
chapter Chapter 14|12 pages
Suicide on My Mind, Britannica on My Table
chapter Chapter 15|22 pages
Suicide
chapter Chapter 16|25 pages
Perturbation and Lethality as Precursors of Suicide in a Gifted Group
chapter Chapter 17|16 pages
A Conspectus of the Suicidal Scenario
chapter Chapter 18|6 pages
Suicide as Psychache
part IV|66 pages
Suicide: Section B: Suicide Notes
chapter Chapter 19|9 pages
Some Characteristics of Genuine Versus Simulated Suicide Notes
chapter Chapter 20|21 pages
Suicide Notes Reconsidered
chapter Chapter 21|26 pages
Self-Destruction: Suicide Notes and Tragic Lives
chapter Chapter 22|8 pages
Letters of Enforced Death Versus Suicide Notes
part IV|32 pages
Suicide: Section C: Administrative and Programmatic
chapter Chapter 23|8 pages
The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center: A Demonstration of Public Health Feasibilities
chapter Chapter 24|9 pages
The NIMH Center for Studies of Suicide Prevention
chapter Chapter 25|13 pages
Some Reflections of a Founder
part IV|42 pages
Suicide: section D: Clinical and Community
chapter Chapter 26|18 pages
How To Prevent Suicide
chapter Chapter 27|9 pages
Psychotherapy with Suicidal Patients
chapter Chapter 28|11 pages
Aphorisms of Suicide and Some Implications for Psychotherapy
chapter Chapter 29|2 pages
Letter to the Editor: Rational Suicide and Psychiatric Disorders
part IV|72 pages
Suicide: Section E: Psychological Autopsy and Postvention
chapter Chapter 30|24 pages
The Psychological Autopsy
chapter Chapter 31|4 pages
Comment: The Psychological Autopsy
chapter Chapter 32|29 pages
An Example of an Equivocal Death Clarified in a Court of Law
chapter Chapter 33|13 pages
Postvention: The Care of the Bereaved
part V|62 pages
Death