Psichotherapy of suicidal behavior: theoretical and clinical premises

The article discusses psychocorrection of suicidal behavior. The amount and type of therapeutic effect for every patient depends on a number of factors. However, suicidal behavior is a phasic and dynamic process that has its cognitive and behavioral mechanisms that determine suicide kinesis. The following aspects are common for suicidal behavior: 1. Giving a stressful (suicide provoking) situation dominant meaning in consciousness. 2. Emotionally caused narrowing of objectivity of consciousness, narrowing of thinking to suicide provoking situation. 3. Direction of behavior into the future (suicidal actions are seen as a key stage in overcoming stress and difficult situation resolution). 4. Changes in the value and priorities systems: pathological overvaluation and increased personal significance of sui-cidogenic situation with full simultaneous depreciation or sharp decrease of the value of life. When planning and providing assistance, it is advised to differentiate between two groups of patients - having true intention to die and using manipulative forms of behavior - since in most cases they use different emotional and cognitive mechanisms and coping strategies. Characteristic peculiarities of each group are provided. To increase effectiveness of psychocorrection the author highlights 10 basic elements for accent attention. The suicide prevention specialist should detect and influence those (“accent approach”) as part of the compulsory correction programme. “Accent approach” suggests compulsory evaluation of leading mechanisms of suicide dynamics, as well as actualization and/or recoding of factors that strengthen individual antisuicide protection. This approach is noted as not limiting the resources of the specialist and leaves him a right to choose priority direction in psychotherapy methods. It is concluded that knowing the peculiarities of dynamics of suicide behavior, specific psychologically important elements of suicide kinesis would allow to run more differentiated and effective individual psychocorrection, which is really important for suicide prevention.