The Paradoxes of Suicide and its Treatment

Abstract

Suicide and its treatment present several paradoxes which are described and discussed. The main paradox, suicide as a caused illness vs. suicide as an action is elaborated upon and the consequences of conceptualizing suicide as a goal-directed action are outlined. The contextual action theory and the theory of goal-directed action are summarized and the view of suicide engaging this approach is presented. Finally, the suicide prevention program developed upon this theory is briefly summarized.