A Primer on Rational Suicide and Other Forms of Hastened Death

Werth, James L.; Holdwick, Daniel J.

doi:10.1177/0011000000284003

Cited by 33 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…7. The psychological literature on the topic of suicide includes numerous references to "rational suicide" or "hastened death," indicating that the only suicides that may be considered rational are those committed in the face of terminal illness or unbearably painful disability (see, for instance, Battin, 1991;Clark, 1992;Marzen, 1993;Mayo, 1986;Werth & Holdwick, 2000). 8.…”

Section: Declaration Of Conflicting Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life in Three Deaths

Shields

Newman

McLeod

2014

Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies

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Taking up the critical theorization of death as an important, though ambivalent, popular hermeneutic, this article attempts to expand upon existing arguments by examining death in the popular framings of an ever-growing U.S. militaristic biocitizenship (Mbembe, Giroux, Butler, Murray, Arendt). By understanding death as posing an existential crisis to collective and individual (social) life-as it is constructed through formations of moving embodiment-we argue that certain forms of death are required to be both knowable and of meaning to define the boundaries of a living body politic and the defense thereof. Whereas death within late modern society has become both increasingly knowable (through advances in medical knowledge) and anomalous (through the biopolitical attribution of most deaths to faulty cells, tissues, or organs, failures that are theoretically preventable), death that is relegated to zones of war and achieved in the service of nationalist ideals is theorized here as particularly certain and non-ambivalent. To understand this complex configuration of life, we interrogate three military deaths: that of the soldier who dies in battle, the living-death of the veteran, and the death of soldier who commits suicide. We argue that such deaths are both necessary and productive features of the protracting military State; soldiers who return from combat-bringing with them the trauma of dismemberment and the re-memberment of their deathly encounters-carry the potential to reproduce, and challenge, the hegemony of a contextually specific militaristic biocitizenship.

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Section: Declaration Of Conflicting Interestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life in Three Deaths

Shields

Newman

McLeod

2014

Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies

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“…Miller et al (1998) encourage social workers to complete a comprehensive assessment of patient coping history, underlying mental illness, significant depression, and other relevant psychiatric concerns in cases involving requests for assisted suicide; the same is necessary when sedation is being considered or hastened death is requested. While there is considerable emphasis placed on the importance of assessing depression in those who express a desire for death (Von Gunten, Ferris, & Emanuel, 2000;Block, 2001;Billings, 2000;Breitbart et al, 2000), many cite the difficulty of diagnosing depression in the terminally ill (Billings, 2000;Muskin, 1998;Werth & Holdwick, 2000) due to the similar somatic symptoms found in both terminal illness and depression (Van Loon, 1999). While Van Loon (1999) suggests an emphasis on psychological, rather than somatic symptoms, she acknowledges that this approach raises a subsequent dilemma by its assumption of a normative psychological response to terminal illness.…”

Section: Journal Of Social Work In End-of-life and Palliative Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…[must be] to separate the patient's prospective grief, fear of dying, fear of the unknown, and fear of pain from clinical depression'' (p. 545). Werth and Holdwick (2000) likewise underscore the need to explore a patient's reasons for desiring death in an attempt to understand the process by which they arrived at such a conclusion rather than assume that it is irrational. Indeed, the clinician will often find that fear, rather than depression, often underlies a patient's suffering and desire for death.…”

Section: Journal Of Social Work In End-of-life and Palliative Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative Sedation: An Essential Place for Clinical Excellence

Higgins¹,

Altilio²

2008

Journal of Social Work in End-Of-Life & Palliative Care

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The complexities that converge around palliative sedation invite clinicians to work together to differentiate the issues and come to recommendations and decisions that are humane, ethical, legal, and clinically sound. Whether a crisis or long-term situation exists, the work is essentially the same. It must include critical thinking, clinical expertise, multidimensional assessment, and an array of interventions to assist patients and families in situations where symptoms and suffering are sufficiently intense to warrant exploration of sedation. The many issues inherent in the discussion of sedation at end of life require not that we have the answers but rather that we work with our colleagues to raise relevant questions and integrate both expertise and compassion into end-of-life decisions and care.

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“…Crisis situations develop as a result of client difficulties related to meaning, coping, and support (Callahan, 1998). Additionally, the issue of involuntary hospitalization raises the entire question of clients' rights vis-à-vis committing suicide, an issue addressed by Werth and Holdwick (2000). Based upon the outcome of this process, the therapist may need to violate confidentiality if the person is acutely suicidal (or homicidal).…”

Section: Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicide

Westefeld

Range

Rogers

et al. 2000

The Counseling Psychologist

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Suicide is a major mental health problem in the United States and an issue that significantly impacts the mental health treatment community. Although the suicide rate remains relatively stable, the discipline of counseling psychology has broadened in scope and work settings have diversified. Thus, counseling psychology trainees are increasingly exposed to suicidal clients. Despite this reality, research suggests that comprehensive, systematic training in suicidology in counseling psychology programs rarely occurs. One reason for this state of affairs may be that the suicide literature is spread across a variety of disciplines, making it difficult for educators and practitioners to stay informed about the knowledge base in suicidology. The purpose of this contribution, therefore, is to provide counseling psychology educators and practitioners with an overview of the field of suicidology as it applies to the training and practice of counseling psychology.

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A Primer on Rational Suicide and Other Forms of Hastened Death

Cited by 33 publications

References 70 publications

Life in Three Deaths

Life in Three Deaths

Palliative Sedation: An Essential Place for Clinical Excellence

Suicide

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