Suicide and Self Harm

This page is divided into Australian and overseas links and includes the full text of a number of books and reports

Lists of books and journal articles relating to suicide can be found on my bibliographies and reading lists page. Books and articles on self-injurious behaviour are listed separately.

For practice guidelines related to suicidal behaviour click here.

Library members have online access to the following journals which may be of interest for this subject.

Archives of Suicide Research
Crisis: the Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide prevention

Australian Links

All In The Mind - 26 January 2008 - The Neurobiology of Suicide
Transcript and audio from All in the Mind, a series on ABC Radio National.

Coping by cutting
The transcript of the ABC radio program Background Briefing - 14 January 2007. (Originally broadcast on 23rd July 2006)

A Hidden Problem: Suicide in Older Men in Queensland
A report to the Office of Ageing Families, Youth & Community Care Queensland, by Professor Diego De Leo and others, 1999.

International Suicide Rates: Recent Trends and Implications for Australia
By Diego De Leo and Russell Evans With contributions from Travis Heller, Kym Spathonis, David Gunnell, and Ester Cerin. Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention. Canberra, Department of Health and Ageing, 2003.

Life Matters: Management of Deliberate Self-Harm in Young People
A performance examination report submitted by the Auditor General to the Western Australian Parliament, November 2001.

LIFE: suicide prevention in Australia - Library - Australian resources
The LIFE website is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. On the LIFE site you will find information and links to publications and resources, and Australian statistics.

The Media Monitoring Project: A Baseline Description of How the Australian Media Report and Portray Suicide and Mental Health and Illness
By Jane Pirkis, R. Warwick Blood, Catherine Francis, Peter Putnis, Philip Burgess, Belinda Morley, Andrew Stewart, and Trish Payne. Canberra, Mental Health and Special Programs Branch, Dept. of Health and Aged Care, 2002?

How the Australian Media Report and Portray Suicide and Mental Health and Illness: The Case Studies is also part of The Media Monitoring Project.

National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy - Setting the Evidence-Based Research for Australia: A literature review
This document is a joint initiative of the Strategic Research Development Committee of the Office of National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Mental Health Branch of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, and is composed of three literature reviews. The first, by Chris Cantor, Kerryn Neulinger, Janet Roth and Dawn Spinks addresses The epidemiology of suicide and attempted suicide in young Australians. The second by Annette Beautrais addresses Risk factors for suicide and attempted suicide among young people, and the third by George Patton and Jane Burns addresses preventative interventions for youth suicide: A risk factor-based approach. Canberra, National Health and Medical Research Council, 1999.

Reporting Suicide and Mental Illness: A Resource for Media Professionals
Developed with the assistance of media professionals, suicide and mental health experts, and consumer organisations for the Health Priorities and Suicide Prevention Branch, of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Canberra, 2004.

Self-harm: Australian treatment guide for consumers and carers
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, June 2005.

Suicide and hospitalised self-harm in Australia
This is a statistical report on suicide and hospitalised self harm in Australia, by Malinda Steenkamp, James Harrison. Canberra, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, November 2000.

Suicide in New South Wales: We Need to Know More
The NSW Suicide Data Report. A publication of the Centre for Mental Health, N.S.W. Health Department, 2000.

Suicide Prevention
Resources from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

Suicide Prevention Communications Project Publications
As part of Australia's National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy 1995-1999, the Australian Institute of Family Studies was engaged by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to address the information and communication needs of those involved in youth suicide prevention via the Communications Project; and to evaluate the Strategy.

Suicide Prevention for Older People: Early Intervention, Assessment and Referral Options for Staff Working with Older People Who May be at Risk of Suicide
This is a training manual produced by the New South Wales Department of Health in June, 2003.

Suicide Prevention Task Force Report
This is a report by a Victorian Task Force, July 1997. Its purpose was to conduct an intensive public investigation into the nature and extent of suicide, particularly youth suicide, in Victoria.

Valuing Young Lives: Evaluation of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy
By Penny Mitchell. Melbourne, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2000.

Youth Suicide & Self-Injury Australia
By James Harrison, Jerry Moller, and Stan Bordeaux.
Australian Injury Prevention Bulletin Issue 15, February 1997, Supplement..

Youth Suicide in Western Australia Involving Cannabis and Other Drugs
A literature review and research report, by Sharon D Hillman, Sven R Silburn, Andria Green & Stephen R Zubrick, December 2000. (WA Strategy Against Drug Abuse Occasional Paper Number 2)

Overseas Links

Choose Life : A National Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Scotland
Edinburgh, Scottish Executive, December 2002.

The epidemiology of suicide in Scotland 1989-2004: an examination of temporal trends and risk factors at national and local levels
This project aimed to support the implementation of national suicide prevention policy by providing detailed information on the epidemiology of suicide at national and local levels. By Stephen Platt, Paul Boyle, Iain Crombie, Zhiqiang Feng, and Dan Exeter. Scottish Executive, March 2007.

Evaluation of the First Phase of Choose Life: the National Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Scotland
By Stephen Platt and others. Scottish Executive Social Research, 2006. There is also Research Findings, which highlights the main findings, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation of the first phase (2003- 2006) of Choose Life.

MedlinePlus: Suicide
A collection of resources on this topic from MEDLINEplus, the National Library of Medicine's information service for the public.

THE MERCK MANUAL, Suicidal Behavior
From the online version of the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy.

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action, 2001
The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention is a collaborative effort of SAMHSA, CDC, NIH, and HRSA. There is also a Summary of its goals and objectives available.

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Suicide prevention facts, mental health information center
A collection of resources from the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention in the United States.

National suicide prevention strategy for England
London, Department of Health, September 2002.

NIMH · Suicide Prevention
Resources from the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States.

Preventing Suicide: A Resource for General Physicians
This document is one of a series of resources addressed to specific social and professional groups particularly relevant to the prevention of suicide. It has been prepared as part of SUPRE, the WHO worldwide initiative for the prevention of suicide. Geneva, World health Organization, Department of Mental Health, 2000. Also available are:-

Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal Behaviours: SUPRE-MISS Components and Instruments Geneva, World health Organization, Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, 2000.
and
Protocol of SUPRE-MISS
Geneva, World health Organization, Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence, 2002.

Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Primary Health Care Workers
Geneva, World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, 2000.

Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Prison Officers
Geneva, World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, 2000.

Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Teachers and Other School Staff
Geneva, World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, 2000.

Preventing Suicide: How to Start a Survivors' Group
Geneva, World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health, 2000.

Preventing Suicide and Deliberate Self Harm: Laying the Foundations: Identifying Practice Examples: Project Report
Prepared for the Scottish Executive by Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health, July 2002.

Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative
S K Goldsmith, T C Pellmar, A M Kleinman, and W E Bunney, Editors, Committee on Pathophysiology & Prevention of Adolescent & Adult Suicide, Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health. Washington D.C., National Academies Press, 2002.

Risk Factors for Suicide: Summary of a Workshop
Prepared by Sara K. Goldsmith, Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine. Institute of Medicine. Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 2001.

Safety First: Five-Year Report of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness
A report produced by the Department of Health in the U.K., March, 2001.

Secret shame (self-injury information and support)
This web site is maintained by Deb Martinson, a psychologist with an interest in self harm.

Suicide Prevention (CDC)
Resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.

Suicide Prevention Efforts for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: Roles for the State Mental Health Authority, March 24, 2008
Editors:- Litts, D. A., Radke, A. Q., and Silverman, M. M. Suicide Prevention Efforts for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: Roles for the State Mental Health Authority. Washington, D.C. National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors/ Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2008.

Suicide Prevention Strategy for England
Both the strategy, and the consultation document are available from this site.

Suicide-Related Research in Canada: A Descriptive Overview
A background paper prepared for the Workshop on Suicide-Related Research (Montréal: February, 2003) by Jennifer White.

Truth Hurts: Report of the National Inquiry into Self-harm Among Young People
The final report of the National Inquiry into self-harm among young people. London, Mental Health Foundation, March 2006.

WHO: Suicide Prevention
WHO resources on suicide prevention including statistics by country.

Young People and Self Harm a National Inquiry
From Camelot Foundation and The Mental Health Foundation in the U.K.