Page 10 - 2024 Intuition, Imagination and Innovation in Suicidology Conference

Conference Strenghts, Limitations and Challenges

of Contemporary Suicide Prevention

Suicidology Invited lecture · Saška Roškar

Dr. Saška Roškar works in the field of prevention of mental diseases, but her pri-

interdisciplinary working group for suicide prevention within the Slovenian Na-
in mary interest is public health approaches to suicide prevention. She leads the
tional Mental Health Program – MIRA. She has contributed to suicide prevention
Innovation in Slovenia through initiatives such as the development of guidelines for respon-
siblereportingonsuicide,theestablishmentofanetworkofcounsellingservices,
training of gatekeepers ...

and Abstract. Contemporary suicide prevention, encompassing different actions,
is a roadmap for saving lives and combating the stigma attached to suici-
dality and those affected by it. Suicide prevention as we know it, certainly
Imagination has many strengths. A lot of initiatives on a universal, selective and indicati-

ve prevention level were successfully implemented in the last decades. Stu-
dies focusing on evaluation of these initiatives – either as a package in the
form of National Suicide Prevention Strategies or their respective compo-
nents – have, however, provided mixed results regarding the effectiveness
Intuition, of these strategies and their impact on the suicide rate. Preventative efforts
are mostly focusing on risk factors for suicide and are hence in the duty of
preventing the suicidal process to develop and/or worsen. But can suicide
prevention really be achieved and operationalized merely through dimini-
2024 shing the risk factors? By not sufficiently focusing on protective factors and
determinants which maintain and strengthen mental health and resilience,
we miss an opportunity to reach out to a great number of individuals who
at this moment are ok and would, thorough initiatives aimed at strengthe-
ning their mental wellbeing also stay in a good mental condition. If we want
to do that, then suicidology and contemporary suicide prevention needs to
get more open and inclusive for approaches seemingly not related to suici-
de prevention. Mental health promotion, focusing on protective rather than
risk factors and on socioeconomic determinants of suicide, is one such area.
In fact onecouldargue,that mentalhealth promotion in itsmost broadsense
is suicide prevention. This is not to say that suicide prevention needs a gene-
ral refurbishing but rather that the field would benefit from embracing new
approaches and ideas.

10 https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-354-8.3