Preventing Suicide: A Handbook for Pastors, Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

by Karen Mason

12th Annual Outreach Resource of the Year What is the church's role in suicide prevention? While we tend to view the work of suicide prevention as the task of professional therapists and doctors, the church can also play a vital role. Studies show that religious faith is an important factor reducing the risk of suicide. Yet many pastors, chaplains and pastoral counselors feel overwhelmed and unprepared to prevent suicides. In this practical handbook, psychologist Karen Mason equips ministry professionals to work with suicidal individuals. Integrating theology and psychology, she shows how pastoral caregivers can be agents of hope, teaching the significance of life, monitoring those at risk and intervening when they need help. Because church leaders are often present in people's lives in seasons of trouble and times of crisis, they can provide comfort in the midst of suffering and offer guidance for the future. When our church members struggle in the darkness, the darkness need not overcome them. Discover how you and your church can be proactive in caring for those at risk of self-harm.

Genres: Counselling, Christian, Mental Health, Psychology, Theology, Nonfiction, Read For School

233 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

Karen Mason (PhD, University of Denver) is associate professor of counseling and psychology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a psychologist working in the mental health field since 1990. She previously managed the Office of Suicide Prevention for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and is a member of the American Psychological Association. She is the author of When the Pieces Don't Fit: Making Sense of Life's Puzzles.

Reviews

[Steve Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical and short, but thorough, overview of some of the causes of suicide and how it impacts individuals, families, and churches. Lots of perspective for pastors and other leaders on caring for the depressed, preventing suicide, and helping families and congregations in the wake of a suicide, should one occur.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very practical resource for those who want to be more knowledgeable about noticing warning signs, walking with those grieving, and supporting those post-suicide attempt. Very practical. Lots of highlighting.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The World Health Organization has found that for every death due to war in the world, there are three deaths due to homivide and five due to suicide' (27). And 84 percent of clergy have been approached for help by a suicidal person at some point in their ministry( 183). Suicide is a significant problem and if you have not encountered it directly, you likely know people who have attempted suicide or loved ones who have died because of it. Personally, friends of friends, classmates and the children of people I care about have committed suicide. I wish that any of their deaths could be prevented.

Karen Mason, associate professor of counseling and psychology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, wrote Preventing Suicide as a guide for pastors, chaplains and pastoral counselors. While the book is titled 'Preventing Suicide' it does more than just give a few tips on how to help those with suicidal tendencies. This is a pastoral care manual which explores the issue in all its complexity. Mason examines who commits suicide (and why), myths and misconceptions and the variety of theological positions on suicide and theoretical frameworks. She provides practical advise for counseling those in a suicidal crisis, those who have survived an attempt, helpers and caregivers, the loved ones of those who have died from suicide and their churches. While you cannot presume pastoral wisdom from reading one book (and Mason wouldn't want you to), this is a fairly comprehensive resource which will be helpful for anyone who engages in pastoral care to the suicidal and their families.

Mason eschews approaches to suicide which compound the blame placed on the suicidal. The causes of suicide are various, and suicidal persons often suffer depression deeply. Trying to scare them away from suicide by threatening eternal damnation, as some Christian theologies posit, only compounds their sense of alienation. Often the hell that they feel and are trying to escape is more real and visceral than the one they are threatened with. Mason gives practical steps on how to empathize with the suicidal and validate the pain they feel, but she points ways to lead them from despondency to hope. She encourages attentiveness, taking threats seriously and dealing with them accordingly, and speaking the truth in love.

This is where clergy and pastoral counselors play a significant role. Discussing spiritual things, giving people reasons for hope and coping strategies for navigating this life, even as we long for God to come in fullness is a bit of what Clergy do. Mason's book helps pastors utilize the resources at their disposal to help people through a suicidal crisis (or to pick up the pieces of one). This is a significant pastoral care resource and would be valuable to any pastor's library. I hope to never need some chapters but I am grateful for the skills and insights that Mason imparts. I give this book five stars. ★★★★★

Thank you to InterVarsity Press for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, of course, an unpleasant subject, yet in reading this volume I realized how poorly prepared I am as a pastor to deal with this crisis in my ministry should it, God forbid, happen. As I thought about it, I recalled pastor friends who have faced this very trial. I can only imagine the anguish of soul of these shepherds, not to mention the families whose world is suddenly turned upside down.

This volume by Karen Mason and published by IVP is astonishingly effective in its goal of bridging the gap between theology and psychology in addressing this timely issue. The psychology was restrained and effective while the theology was quite good from the author whose experience ran a little more in psychology.

The book is practical in its emphasis on prevention, ministering, and the role of churches and pastors. We get a good overview of what suicide is and who most often dies by suicide (she tells us not to say “commit suicide”).

The chapter on “Shattering Myths About Suicide” embarrassed me because I held to most of them! She well described the common positions of those who hold suicide is not a sin as well as those who do including those who wrongly say a true Christian cannot die by suicide. There are real aids to families who fear this erroneous doctrine to be gleaned here.

There is detailed help in dealing with a suicidal feelings as well as ministering to those struggling after being left behind. The ever present issue of an unfair stigma on a grieving family is well presented here too.

I recommend all my pastor friends, as well as those who have need to deal with issue, grab a copy of this fine resource.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

[Bruce Zheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure if makes sense for me to leave a review since I’m not a mental health professional or a pastor and probably can’t give feedback on how useful this book really is. I guess it was extremely eye opening to me and made me think a lot about ways to get involved with suicide prevention. It also made me think about how the church is very ill equipped to help in many cases. The strongest emotion I felt when reading this book was anger when the author cited some situations where the church responded to suicide or suicidal ideation with apathy or stigmatization. In this way the church is really not “walking in a manner worthy of its calling”.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention work I have read. It incorporates the current best practices and guidelines and makes them understandable for the average person (i.e., not a psychology or mental health expert) using examples and stories to illustrate.

Over the past several years I've worked with the Alaska State suicide prevention efforts and this book is the best one-stop work I now have to remind myself of what I've learned.

This book is written very much from a Christian faith standpoint, but that should not deter anyone in the field of suicidology, or someone wanting to learn more about it from picking it up. I think that those who do not arrive at it from a faith standpoint can use this book to better understand why incorporating faith into suicide prevention work may be vitally important for some at risk, and how faith can contribute.

Please refer to my chapter-by-chapter summaries for more precise details about what I thought on each chapter.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sobering, practical, helpful, hopeful. Certainly increases awareness and emphasizes openness in talking about it, but not location and methods. Deals with stigma of suicide as well as survivor issues. Stays on my shelf in hopes I won't have to come back to it but a valuable tool for "prevention, intervention, and postvention."

[Annelise · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensive tool for pastors, chaplains, and faith-based counselors. This book includes such good information about background facts and how to help those going through a suicide crisis—whether the person themselves, survivors of suicide attempts, families of those who have died by or attempted suicide, caregivers, and the community as a whole.

I read this book for a course, Crisis and Suicide, I’m taking as part of my Graduate Counseling Certificate program, and it was one of the best texts we have had the privilege of reading yet. Anyone who responds to crises situations, especially surrounding suicide, could benefit from this book.

[Edward Durand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very insightful. Suicide prevention is an important part of ministry. Clergy can offer the grace of God, something other caregivers do not have training and other caregivers offer medical care that the clergy is not trained to give. Both are need and partnering can be an important step in care giving. I am glad I read this book and it will be kept.

[Kyleigh Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, practical, and helpful. I am probably at a different place on the biblical counseling--integrationist spectrum than Mason, so had some disagreements, but that does not stop this book from being a valuable tool.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for your arsenal against the devastating topic of suicide. Prevention is possible! Thank you for your insight, Karen.

[Dr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well documented book for Pastors, Chaplains, and other Christians dealing with people and the growing challenge of suicide in our culture today. I believe it is a must read.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preventing Suicide.
Whose role is this? Professionals?, Friends?, Pastors?, Family?
The answer is all of the above. Anyone in touch with someone that is suicidal has a role to play in preventing suicide. Though their role may vary, it is essential. The more we know how we can help and when to refer to someone else the more we can help prevent suicide. This book is a five-star read for me. Although, it is a difficult subject to learn about I believe it to be essential to educate ourselves. Suicide is stigmatised, anchored in stereotypes and silences the hurting. Knowledge in prevention, intervention and postvention counteracts shame and helps the hurting. May we instil courage, be present, seek education, help the helpers, be empathetic, and advocate for the fight to prevent suicide.
Can our community decrease helplessness and increase belongingness?
I hope so.

[Annelise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good resource for ministry leaders and volunteers who'd like to be better trained in mental health and suicide awareness in Christian contexts.

[Cameron Garden · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously not a literary review. bit repetitive at times (i suppose this is necessary given subject) and stretches theory section a bit too far. otherwise an invaluable resource i'm sure

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: This handbook is written for pastors and other religious counselors, who the author contends can play an important role in preventing suicide. It focuses on how both theology and psychology can contribute to helping those at risk to harm themselves.

Pastors, chaplains, and religious workers are often in a position to recognize those at risk of attempting suicide. Yet often these individuals lack the training to know how to respond, and often are not integrated (sometimes because of privacy practices) into helping those considering taking their lives. Karen Mason contends that both the theological and community resources of a religious community afford important resources in caring for the suicidal. This handbook is written to help remedy that gap.

She begins by considering possible attitudes toward suicide and how these might affect our response, as well as the ways both the church and the psychological profession can work in partnership. Then she turns to some factual material. In chapter one, she focuses on incidence rates, indicating that 45-54 year olds have the highest rate of suicide deaths and that men commit suicide four times as often as women even though more women than men attempt suicide. She also considers other factors that confer risk as well as protective factors, which include family support and church attendance. She turns to shattering common myths about suicide including that real Christians don't experience suicidal thoughts, prayer is all that Christians need, people are suicidal just to get attention, people who kill themselves are just being selfish, angry or vengeful, the depressed should just "buck up", talking about suicide may give the person the idea to complete suicide, and most important that if someone wants to kill themselves, there is nothing we can do.

She considers theology, and theories of suicide. She explores various understanding of suicide and sin. Is it or not and is it forgivable or not? How should such beliefs shape pastoral care? She reviews the leading historical and current psychological theories of suicide.

Chapter 5 covers the material often given in "gatekeeper" training. It provides specific guidance for spotting warning signs, assessing for suicidal thinking (yes, it is appropriate and even helpful to ask someone if they have thoughts of suicide), assessing where a person is on a suicide continuum, assigning risk level, taking action appropriate to the risk level and how to provide pastoral care as part of a care team. The next chapter turns to helping those who survive suicide attempts. This is followed by talking about care for care-givers, including self care.

The last two chapters focus on dealing with what the rest of the book has sought to prevent--the aftermath of a death by suicide, dealing with caring for survivors and for the wider community. This last deals with a reality not often considered--contagion and suicide clusters. The conclusion then sums up the ways religious workers can play an important role in suicide prevention.

Each chapter concludes with a list of print and online resources related to the topic and questions helping pastoral caregivers to reflect on their attitudes and approaches to suicide.

This is an important resource that breaks the conspiracy of silence and shame with compassionate and clear steps pastoral caregivers can take to prevent suicide. Sample dialogues even give language for caregivers as they engage with those considering suicide. Furthermore, it shows how religious communities can play an important role in preventing suicide and helping people find hope.

I've been part of memorial services for students who have died during their collegiate years, including some who died by taking their own lives. I can tell you that one such death is too many. And if this book helps save even one such life (and I hope it will save more) it will be worth it.

[April Yamasaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A practical guide with good information on suicide, theories and Christian theology, and how to help people in suicide crisis, survivors, family members, and the faith community.