infonet-economy

Previous analyses of the narratives of 40 persons hospitalized in a general hospital after suicide attempt found that they described their suicide attempts as goal-directed processes, sometimes planned in advance, sometimes executed spontaneously. They also described short-term actions, mid-term projects, and long-term careers reflecting goal-directed processes related to maintaining and developing their lives. In this qualitative study that reports on a re-analysis of these data, the research participants' narratives were examined for links between life-related and suicide-related goal-directed processes. The analysis followed a distinction between a goal-directed view of suicide processes and a dynamic systems view. The findings indicated that some links were goal-directed and consistent with the reasoning of life-maintaining projects. These "top-down" links between life-related and the suicide-related goal-directed processes reflected the goal-directed view of suicide processes. Other links indicated a substantially limited capacity for goal-directedness, reflecting the "bottom-up" dynamic systems view. Finally, it third group of links reflected a mix of "top-down" and "bottom-up" processes. Implications are offered for mental health counselors working with suicidal clients.