Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Book update part 2

Working with suicidal individuals.

There is no consistent way that I am aware of to find out which libraries the book is now in. But I have found it in some libraries which I have accidently stumbled across. Listed here:

University of Cambridge (UK)
Curtin University (Aust)
Australian Catholic University (Aust)
Boston College (USA)
City University of Hong Kong (China)
Executive Counseling and Training Academy (Singapore)
Oxford University library (UK)
Eastern Institute of Technlogy (New Zealand)
Oregon Health and Science University (USA)
James Cook University (Aust)
Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland)
Library of congress (USA)
Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)
British Library
PJ Library (Norway)
Bromley Library service (UK)
University of Missouri-Columbia (USA)
Akron-Summit County Public Library, Ohio (USA)
University of California Merced (USA)

Also two comments from a discussion forum which commented on my book:

Andy Williams • bought a copy about three weeks ago - will be using it to deliver a training on risk assessment at the North East Regional TA Conference in November 2011 at York

Rosemary Napper • I reviewed it for the publisher - I thought in many ways it is an excellent book - and I have found supervisees find it very stabilising. I wonder if it has a role with family members too as its very accessible as well as grounding.

I was sad that it uses classical models of ego states from the 1960s, rather than more contemporary and coherent ideas about ego states. Nonetheless, the way these are used and illustrated with many many case examples works quite well, and clearly works for him as a set of maps to think about both personality and communication............

Reccomend!
And so glad to see a TA book published by a mainstream publisher!
We need more writers!

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Serbian psychologist Natasa Djurica says:

Overall Tony White's book "Working with suicidal individuals" is interesting, instructive and written in an easy to read style. It reminds me of the book from my childhood, "Journey To The Center of The Earth" by Jules Verne. It captured my Free Child in the reading of it. Is there a better compliment for a book, especially an occupational book?
 
Why the book "Journey To The Center of The Earth"? Probably because Tony White's book was a journey to the centre of suicidality as a human behaviour. He was an excellent guide on this journey.

The book has a logical and systematic structure. It reassures those who think suicide is a danger that lurks behind every human stress, depression or tragedy. He shows this is not the case at all.

In his easy to understand style, the author explain that human behaviour is a reflection of the structure of their personality. This explanation gives strong evidence there is a clear distinction between those who are suicidal and those who are not. The distinguishing feature between the groups are decisions. Early decisions made in childhood under adverse parenting (ego state Child)  or decision modelled by parents or significant others in a process of introjection ( Parent ego state). It is these early decisions in the personality structure that determine suicidal behaviour. Thanks to this book we know suicidal urges are not something lurking in every human.

For some readers this will be surprising. But there is much more.
 
The author then leaves readers with some questions: 
* Most people are unaware of their suicide decision. How do we recognise when the decisions are there? The suicide decision can be activated during someone's life but they also can "sleep" in the personality for their whole life, why? If someone has those decision is there possibility to change them? 

* From his long term practice and rich experience readers are given examples of those behaviours which seem suicidal but are actually not!? He also explains why some behaviours even the potentially lethal end are not suicidal!?

It is very interesting to see how writer leads us from this uncertain position. I can say I found the answers I need. At the end of the journey the reader is well informed about suicidal behaviour, and provided with lots off tools and ways for understanding, assessing, helping, and working with suicidal individuals. 

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One interesting comment that I see here and have had two others say to me is about the grounding nature of the book. This certainly wasn't planned by me but it may reflect a change in my self over time about working with the suicidal.

Rosemary Napper says of the book - it is stablizing and grounding
Natasa Djurica says - it is reassuring about the danger of suicide

When I meet with a suicidal client these days I am much less alarmed and feel more confident in my dealings with them than I was as a younger psychotherapist. It is good to see that this perhaps is reflected in this book which I had no idea I was doing when I wrote it.

Tony

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