Indefinite Postponement: A Case Study of Adolescent Suicidality

Suicide may be considered a sin or a sorrow, nonetheless the number of self-inflicted deaths is increasing, and unfortunately there currently is no efficacious treatment for this malady. As a psychiatrist, the author was perplexed, uncertain, and tentative in dealing with his first suicidal patient, an adolescent determined to take her own life. Finding no prior practical research in this area of treatment, he uncomfortably but sensitively probed means to counsel and treat his first suicidal patient. By having the patient document her thoughts and feelings during this frightening time, he was able to prescribe medications and design a psychotherapeutic treatment for maintenance during the mournful episodes. Through the insights generated by the memoir record, further penetration into the inner mind of the challenged client reveals the depression, hopelessness, stress, despair, and anxiety she experiences. Gradually, a hidden memory of childhood abuse is released, a mysterious poison that responds to treatment. Examining the mind of those intent on self-destruction is a distressing labor, but this is the task that psychologists and families must undertake when encountering such a crisis. This case study will interest therapists and those who work with young, clinically labile clients.