How to Prevent Suicide With Cognitive Therapy
Suicide is a tragedy but one that can typically be prevented with the watchful eye of loved ones and medical professionals. Very rarely does suicide happen spontaneously, and there are telltale signs of someone with suicidal intent. Cognitive therapy is a wonderful tool for restructuring behaviors and thought patterns and can be great for preventing suicide attempts. Following are steps to use to prevent suicide with cognitive therapy.
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Instructions
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Discover the basics of cognitive therapy by attending courses dedicated to the discipline of cognitive therapy or doing a considerable amount of reading and real-world practice to understand how to utilize the therapeutic system. Obtain various therapy videos from the American Psychological Association on cognitive therapy so you can see how learned professionals utilize the technique.
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Learn the normal behaviors of the client in question. Pay attention to his manner of speaking, behavior, voice inflection, eye contact usage and typical body language. Watch for sudden shifts in mood, especially random elation or a seeming disappearance of depressive symptoms.
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Teach the client to learn to reframe negative thought patterns by journaling. Have the client integrate positive messages to replace the negative suicidal thoughts; for example, instead of "my life is horrible I want to die," instruct them to replace that with "my life may not be perfect right now, but things change."
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Guide the client to integrating new behaviors to combat self-defeatist or suicide-invoking behavioral patterns. Replace negative behavioral constructs (such as sleeping all day or crying incessantly) with behaviors that distract from the negative moods.
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Help the client to reintegrate communication and social skills into her life and learn to communicate her negative feelings instead of keeping them bottled up (which can lead to being overwhelmed and contribute to suicide ideation). Encourage her to use the therapeutic techniques at all times, especially when she feels helpless and severely depressed.
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Challenge irrational beliefs and suicidal thoughts with positive or realistic messages. Gently push the client to integrate more realistic and less fatalistic beliefs about the world and his life.
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Tips & Warnings
Use your recognition of the client's normal behavior to realize unnatural, miraculous shifts in mood. Suicide patients often become happier or have a lifting of symptoms before an attempt. Instruct them to use their reframing messages when this appears to be happening.
Journaling helps to alleviate the weight of negative thoughts by purging them onto paper, but must be countered with an opposite thought.
Help the client to learn problem-solving skills and to actively engage his recovery process so he feels he has control over his emotions and life circumstances.
Do not ignore any threats of suicide. Contact friends or family and ensure the person is on suicide watch for at least 48 hours following a suicide threat.
