Relating to Self-Harm and Suicide: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Practice, Theory and Prevention

Relating to Self-harm and Suicide presents original studies and research from contemporary psychoanalysts, therapists and academics focusing on the psychoanalytic understanding of suicide and self-harm, and how this can be applied to clinical work and policy.This powerful critique of current thinking suggests that suicide and self-harm must be understood as having meaning within interpersonal and intrapsychic relationships, offering a new and more hopeful dimension for prevention and recovery.

Divided into three parts, the book includes:

a theoretical overview

examples of psychoanalytic practice with self-harming and suicidal patients

applications of psychoanalytic thinking to suicide and self-harm prevention

Relating to Self-harm and Suicide will be helpful to psychoanalytic therapists, analysts and mental health professionals wanting to integrate psychoanalytic ideas into their work with self-harmers and the suicidal. This text will also be of use to academics and professionals involved in suicide prevention.

Relating to Self-Harm and Suicide presents original studies and research from contemporary psychoanalysts, therapists and academics focusing on the psychoanalytic understanding of suicide and self-harm, and how this can be applied to clinical work and policy.

This powerful critique of current thinking suggests that suicide and self-harm must be understood as having meaning within interpersonal and intrapsychic relationships, offering a new and more hopeful dimension for prevention and recovery. Divided into three sections, the book includes:

• a theoretical overview


• examples of psychoanalytic practice with self-harming and suicidal patients


• applications of psychoanalytic thinking to suicide and self-harm prevention.

Relating to Self-Harm and Suicide will be helpful to psychoanalytic therapists, analysts and mental health professionals wanting to integrate psychoanalytic ideas into their work with self-harmers and the suicidal. This text will also be of use to academics and professionals involved in suicidal prevention.

Stephen Briggs is Professor and Director of the Centre for Social Work Research, in the University of East London and Vice Dean in the Adolescent Department of the Tavistock Clinic. He has worked as a clinician, teacher and researcher in the Tavistock’s Adolescent Department since 1991 and has written widely on infancy, adolescence and suicide.

Alessandra Lemma is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist working in the Adolescent Department of Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust where she is also the Head of Psychology. She teaches widely and has a particular interest in trauma and body image disturbances. She trained as a psychoanalyst and is Member of the British Psychoanalytic Society.

William Crouch is a Clinical Psychologist in the Adolescent Department, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, with a training post in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. He has a worked with young people in community mental health teams and inpatient units; he has set up a mental health service in an inner city youth offending team.