Self article addresses the controversial and current suicide issue

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Health data, between 2000 and 2016, the number of suicide cases in Brazil increased gradually, from 6,780 to 11,736 (73%). The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that suicide is the second leading cause of death in the world in the age group of 15 to 29 years. In May and June of this year, the Universidade de São Paulo (USP – University of São Paulo) recorded four cases of suicide.

The subject of suicide has ceased to be taboo and is increasingly occupying health professionals, parents and, why not, the young people who see their friends make such a disconcerting decision.

Such a serious and relevant question could not be left out of the field of analytical psychology, nor from the radar of the Self – Revista do IJUSP which publishes the paper "Clinical approach of the themes 'death' and 'suicide' from the perspective of archetypal psychology”, by Helton Marculino de Souza and Lunalva Fiuza Chagas.

From a theoretical research, undertaken through the consultation of works by James Hillman, the authors aimed at a “first systematization on clinical interventions to approach aspects concerning death and suicide from the point of view Archetypal Psychology”. As main result of this research, the authors concluded that it is very important that “the psychologist coming into contact with issues related to death and suicide can be perceived, so that he is able to offer a welcoming response that is not limited to pathologizing” and that they could be “willing to relate to the phenomenon that arises rather than interpreting it; it is indispensable to the psychologist to recognize own fantasies and affections related to the issue”.

The paper "Clinical approach of the themes 'death' and 'suicide' from the perspective of archetypal psychology” is available with open acces at Self – Revista do IJUSP: < https://self.ijusp.org.br/self/article/view/26>