Draws on work of George Herbert Mead to question premise that acute grief that continues or reoccurs two or more years following loss of loved one is pathological. Suggests that onset of intense pain years after loss may be response to "new" death or loss. (Author/NB)

Presents case of Tillie, 36-year-old female office manager of law firm who committed suicide by jumping off balcony in her home in presence of co-workers. Douglas Jacobs from Harvard Medical School and David Jobes from the Catholic University of America discuss case and role of consultant called in to help co-workers deal with impact of this…

Uses human sciences, multilevel, hermeneutic approach to study life experiences of 21-year-old male who had tested positive for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome virus but who was asymptomatic. Demonstrates uses of systematic, personological procedure for examining these experiences and alerts practitioners to central psychological themes that…

Presents case of attempted suicide of 66-year-old female, along with comments based on the chapters of this special volume on suicide among the elderly. Specific topics of demographics, psychiatric-psychological, object relations, the attempts, and concluding comments provide an idiographic illustration of suicidal behavior in an older adult.…

Advocates the case method as the primary object of teaching in suicidology. Presents five cases, each from a different vantage point, referral source, and context, and without revealing the outcome. Concludes that the application of empirically derived risk factors makes the assessment and prediction of future suicidal behavior more possible,…

Presents case study of 50-year-old widow with history of emotional disturbance who committed suicide by a drug overdose 10 days after discharge from inpatient treatment for psychotic illness. Following case presentation are commentaries from John Maltsberger, MD (McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts) and Wayne Fenton, MD (Chestnut Lodge…

Presents case study of 36-year-old mildly retarded white woman who lived in group home and who recently tried to injure herself. Comments on the case and on interventions are given by Rowland Barrett and Anne Walters from Brown University School of Medicine, Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital and from Howard Pressman, in independent practice in…

Presents two cases chosen to draw attention to marital and developmental dynamics of suicidal behavior. Both case vignettes are based on individual interviews with suicidal persons and their spouses during the suicidal person's psychiatric hospitalization, and both include observations of the marital interaction. Case vignettes are followed by…

Presents case of man who died suddenly on morning of his fifty-sixth birthday and whose death was ruled to be from natural causes. Describes wife's handling of situation, victim's past medical history, and allegations and facts concerning his business and financial affairs. Comments are included from Timothy Michaels, MD, and Robert Litman, MD.…

Presents case summary involving survivors of suicide of 17-year-old child. Includes two therapists' comments on working with issues and dynamics described. One therapist suggests seeking entry into the family system through the father's difficulties. Another therapist recommends using the "Gandhi technique" or the intervention used by…

Presents two case vignettes that pose issues of concern for suicide postvention, with particular relevance to the development of school-based crisis intervention response programs. Two commentaries follow the vignettes. (Author/NB)

Presents case study about unsuccessful effort to hire and retain young black woman as administrator on permanent basis at New England university. Outlines how marginalization of feminist agenda, tendency to pigeonhole black women, and rigidity of bureaucratic university structures create formidable barriers to diversity. Argues that linear and…

Presents a case where psychiatry and family therapy were used concurrently to treat a family disorder. The use of two modalities allowed the therapists to see the distress their prescriptions inflicted on the child. Concluded that family therapists should consider how their interventions affect young, vulnerable family members. (BH)

Examines the significance of reclassification in public welfare, focusing on the Michigan plan of reclassification as a case study. The National Association of Social Worker's (NASW's) current strategy in addressing reclassification is evaluated and several alternative strategies and policies for the organization are considered. (JAC)

The author, a therapist, relates the 2 year process of psychotherapy with Heather, a 19 year old Down's syndrome girl. Psychotherapy was seen as the least restrictive alternative because it recognized that the girl, in addition to some concerns related to her handicap, was upset by her own inner emotional pressures and entitled to a neurotic…