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poral Risk Factors for Suicide 2023 Intuition, Imagination and Innovation in Suicidology Conference
After Suicide Bereavement
Invited lecture · Alexandra Pitman
Dr. Alexandra Pitman is an Associate Professor in General Adult Psychiatry in the
UCL Division of Psychiatry and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Camden
& Islington NHS Foundation Trust. She gained her undergraduate degree in Hu-
man Sciences from the University of Oxford, her MSc in Health Policy, Planning
and Financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the
London School of Economics, and her undergraduate medical degree at Imperial
College. She completed her core training in psychiatry on the West London rotati-
on, and her higher training in General Adult Psychiatry as an NIHR Academic Cli-
nical Fellow on the North London/UCL rotation. She chose to focus on studying
the impact of suicide bereavement as this was an issue that seemed relatively
unexplored in British clinical or research settings. Her PhD at UCL was funded by
the Medical Research Council, and was followed by an MRC Centenary Early Ca-
reer Award and a Guarantors of Brain post-doctoral fellowship. Her clinical and
research interests are the care of people who feel suicidal; the links between lone-
liness, social isolation and mental illness; and the prevention of suicide attempt.
Abstract. Temporal risk factors for suicide are under-investigated but have
the potential to identify time points at which suicide prevention interventi-
ons could be targeted. This presentation will describe well-established tem-
poral risk factors for suicide at the population level (such as seasonality) befo-
re reporting the findings of new research on temporal risk factors in specific
groups. The first set of findings are from an analysis of the National Confiden-
tial Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) dataset, descri-
bing the characteristics of patients who die by suicide on or near a significant
date and the implications for clinical care. The second set of findings are from
an analysis of Danish population registry data to investigate whether suicide
and suicide attempt risk are elevated at specific emotionally salient time po-
ints after suicide loss: anniversaries of the suicide, birthdays of the deceased,
and reaching the age at which a parent died by suicide. The presentation will
conclude by considering the implications for support provided after suicide
bereavement.
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-251-0.6 15
After Suicide Bereavement
Invited lecture · Alexandra Pitman
Dr. Alexandra Pitman is an Associate Professor in General Adult Psychiatry in the
UCL Division of Psychiatry and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Camden
& Islington NHS Foundation Trust. She gained her undergraduate degree in Hu-
man Sciences from the University of Oxford, her MSc in Health Policy, Planning
and Financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the
London School of Economics, and her undergraduate medical degree at Imperial
College. She completed her core training in psychiatry on the West London rotati-
on, and her higher training in General Adult Psychiatry as an NIHR Academic Cli-
nical Fellow on the North London/UCL rotation. She chose to focus on studying
the impact of suicide bereavement as this was an issue that seemed relatively
unexplored in British clinical or research settings. Her PhD at UCL was funded by
the Medical Research Council, and was followed by an MRC Centenary Early Ca-
reer Award and a Guarantors of Brain post-doctoral fellowship. Her clinical and
research interests are the care of people who feel suicidal; the links between lone-
liness, social isolation and mental illness; and the prevention of suicide attempt.
Abstract. Temporal risk factors for suicide are under-investigated but have
the potential to identify time points at which suicide prevention interventi-
ons could be targeted. This presentation will describe well-established tem-
poral risk factors for suicide at the population level (such as seasonality) befo-
re reporting the findings of new research on temporal risk factors in specific
groups. The first set of findings are from an analysis of the National Confiden-
tial Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) dataset, descri-
bing the characteristics of patients who die by suicide on or near a significant
date and the implications for clinical care. The second set of findings are from
an analysis of Danish population registry data to investigate whether suicide
and suicide attempt risk are elevated at specific emotionally salient time po-
ints after suicide loss: anniversaries of the suicide, birthdays of the deceased,
and reaching the age at which a parent died by suicide. The presentation will
conclude by considering the implications for support provided after suicide
bereavement.
https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-251-0.6 15
