The effectiveness of psychotherapy in the prevention of suicide behavior

Abstract

Suicide is a global health problem, causing almost a million of deaths worldwide. Suicide tendencies can be controlled, and suicide risk can be treated. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and dialectic behavior therapy (DBT) are the most frequent and effective psychotherapies. Cognitive behavior approach consists in two models of intervention in case of suicide risk: cognitive behavior psychotherapy for prevention, and mindfulness (contemplative meditation). Dialectic behavior therapy is used to treat people with multiple suicide attempts and self-harm tendencies. Lately, the method has become the standard for the treatment of people suffering from borderline disorder. Inter-personal therapy (IPT) is a short type of psychotherapy, well structured and documented, used to treat people suffering from acute major depression, but the method has been used lately to prevent new episodes of depression by solving interpersonal problems.