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Interventions for Suicidal Children and Their Parents
Author(s) -
Pfeffer Cynthia R.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1982.tb00712.x
Subject(s) - seriousness , psychology , spouse , feeling , psychological intervention , denial , psychopathology , harm , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychotherapist , social psychology , sociology , political science , anthropology , law
Five features of the family organization of suicidal children include family inhibition of change, lack of defined generational boundaries, severity of spouse conflict, projection of inappropriate parental feelings onto the child, and a symbiotic parent‐child interaction. The treatment of suicidal children must encompass a holistic family technique. The acute phases of treatment include protecting the child from harm, promoting family recognition of the seriousness of the child's suicidal behavior, promoting appropriate parental role responsibilities, and effecting an immediate significant family change. During the long‐term process of treatment, attention must be focused on the child's unique psychopathology, the conflicts that preclude appropriate parental response to the child's needs, and the characterological difficulties of each parent.