BOOK REVIEW
Book review: Tentativa de suicídio um prisma para compreensão da adolescência, by Enio Resmini
Reseña del libro Tentativa de suicídio um prisma para compreensão da adolescência, de Enio Resmini
José Carlos Souza
Psychiatrist, PhD in Mental Health (Unicamp, Brazil), Postdoc and Professor, School of Medicine of Lisbon and Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
TENTATIVA DE SUICÍDIO UM PRISMA PARA COMPREENSÃO DA ADOLESCÊNCIA
Enio Resmini
Rio de Janeiro: Revinter; 2004
In clear and objective language the author presents the issue of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide itself, in particular during adolescence, an age group for which this is the second or third causa mortis, depending on the location sampled and the methodology employed.
Resmini informs us that, in Europe the major causes of death between 15 and 35 years of age, in descending order, are: traffic accidents, suicide and cancer. In our country more than half of people who attempt suicide do not seek and are not taken for medical care. According to the author, this is 53.3%, although, probably the true number is much greater taking account of the fact that Brazilian epidemiological studies of suicide are isolated and restricted to the South and Southeast regions of the country. Furthermore, this datum is very often omitted due to the "demands" of several health plans which will not pay for professional or hospital treatment if the term "suicide" appears on the patient's record; there is also a significant stigma attached to suicide among health professionals themselves, as though the brutal restriction by life insurance companies that "abominate" it was not enough.
The author of this book presents a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary view of suicide, which makes it easier for knowledge on the subject to be socially acceptable to laypeople. Initially, in Part I, the author deals with what many call the "normal adolescent syndrome"; and then the psychopathological aspects of adolescence. In this second chapter the author could have gone in more depth into the varying psychopathological schools of thought on the mental diseases and symptoms involved, but, perhaps, this was not the primary aim of the book.
In Part II, suicide is conceptualized, statistical and sociodemographic data, risk factors and factors protective against the act of suicide are covered in addition to the theoretical models for understanding suicidal behavior and tendencies. This last draws attention to the valuable holistic view that the author has of human beings.
In Part III, under the heading of treatment and management of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, there are seven, well-condensed chapters which can greatly aid both general practitioners and specialists in the area. In the second-from-last chapter, countertransference is dealt with in depth and, at the same time, in an easily understood manner. As is described by Chiles & Strosahl (1995), the most difficult aspects of working with suicides are the reactions within the interviewer, in particular when one takes into account the notoriety with which human beings, depending on circumstances and time of life, are disposed to tell the truth about themselves, attenuate it, exaggerate it or omit it. This fact triggers both conscious and unconscious sentiments in the professional working with suicidal patients, in particular when auto-annihilation is concretized. It is worth remembering, at this point, that the professional is as much a human being as their client is, even when, they have been imbued with an overload of omnipotence and omniscience during their undergraduate university course. When dealing with suicidal patients there is no way of stating with certainty if the course chosen is correct or not; unfortunately, in this area, a therapy that is apparently adequate may only mean a dose of anxiety relief for the professional.
The author, dealing with therapy in the last chapter of the book, leaves something to be desired with respect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) which is dealt with in just three lines, even though this is often the first-choice treatment in emergency situations. In this chapter, the author may frustrate the reader because ECT is cited in the title and is dealt with in just the last three lines of the book.
Overall, Dr. Enio Resmini toasts the scientific literature of the area with this contribution.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
14 Sept 2005 -
Date of issue
Dec 2004
