Citation

Taiminen TJ. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 1992; 85(6): 449-452.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, Turku University, Finland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1642128

Abstract

The effect of suggestion on suicide is well established. However, the intrapsychic mechanisms of the contagion of suicides are poorly understood. In this article I first present the literature about suicide clustering and about projective identification. In the following clinical vignette I try to understand a patient's suicidal behaviour, referring to William Goldstein's clarifying model of projective identification. I aim to illustrate that his model has heuristic value in the treatment of suicidal patients when the effect of suggestion or identification is suspected.

Language: en