Psychodynamic Aspects of Suicide and Homicide

Abstract

This chapter will be divided into two parts. The first on suicide will look at the current epidemiology of suicide, the psychodynamic understanding of the pathway to a death of this nature and the effect the suicide of a patient can have on the clinician and teams working with them. The second part will describe the psychodynamic understanding of homicide. The suicide section is written by Dr Rachel Gibbons and the homicide section by Dr Gwen Adshead.