Nearly one million people take their own lives each year world-wide - however, contrary to popular belief, suicide can be prevented. While suicide is commonly thought to be an understandable reaction to severe stress, it is actually an abnormal reaction to regular situations. Something more than unbearable stress is needed to explain suicide, and neuroscience shows what this is, how it is caused and how it can be treated. Professor Kees van Heeringen describes findings from neuroscientific research on suicide, using various approaches from population genetics to brain imaging. Compelling evidence is reviewed that shows how and why genetic characteristics or early traumatic experiences may lead to a specific predisposition that makes people vulnerable to triggering life events. Neuroscientific studies are yielding results that provide insight into how the risk of suicide may develop; ultimately demonstrating how suicide can be prevented.

Contrary to common belief, suicide is preventable and insights from neuroscientific research show how.

About the Author
Kees van Heeringen is a Professor of Psychiatry, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, and Director of the Unit for Suicide Research at Ghent University, Belgium. He is also Co-founder of the Flemish Expertise Centre for Suicide Prevention. Professor van Heeringen's research has been awarded the Stengel Award by the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

Reviews
'... van Heeringen has made the neuroscience of suicide accessible, understandable, non-intimidating, reader-friendly, and actually rather interesting ...' Alan L. Berman, The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention



Book Information
ISBN 9781316602904
Author Kees van Heeringen
Format Paperback
Page Count 286
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 480g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 153mm * 13mm