Legal Minute
to them. When a lethal method is unavailable at the moment
of potential action, suicide attempts might be delayed so that
suicidal impulses will pass without fatal effects. - The Lancet,
2012 Jun 23; 379(9834):2393-9, Yip, Caine, Yousef, Chang,
Wu & Chen.
While mental health and substance abuse treatment must
always be important components in treating suicidality,
researchers like Cathy Barber, the director of the Means
Matters campaign at Harvard Injury Control Research
Center, are stressing this additional avenue of “means
restriction.” In her recent article in the New York Times
“Blocking the Path to Suicide,” author Celia Watson Seupel
explores this new approach
at suicide prevention that
especially focuses on suicide in
young people. (New York Times,
March 9, 2015). “What people
experience before attempting
suicide is a combination of
panic, agitation and franticness,”
he said. “A desire to escape from
unbearable pain and feeling
trapped,” says Dr. Igor Galynker,
the director of the Family Center
for Bipolar Disorder at Mount
Sinai Beth Israel.
We
should
all
become
knowledgeable of the signs
to look for in our colleagues,
partners and friends that indicate
a downward spiral that could be
signaling suicide, so we may
have the opportunity to prevent
further suicides in our ranks.
I am proud to say that the
State Bar of Georgia responded to the crisis of suicide in
our profession with the creation of our Suicide Prevention
program, “How To Save a Life.” We created a video which
tells some personal stories of Georgia lawyers and how
suicide has affected them and also discusses the warning
signs of suicide and how you should take action should
you see them. The Board of Directors of the Institute of
Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) agreed to play the video
at every ICLE seminar during the past year and Stephen
Harper, Executive Director of ICLE reports that “30,845
registrants for ICLE programs from September 1, 2013 –
September 1, 2014 viewed this video. This effort at suicide
prevention in the bar is our attempt to eliminate the “if onlys”
that always follow a suicide.”
As expected, not everyone in the Bar was a fan of this effort,
particularly Bar members attending an ICLE seminar who
complained about having to watch it on their “day off”, as the
subject matter was depressing.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
Unfortunately, the refusal to want to discuss suicide has
far too long been the stumbling block for successfully
preventing suicide. No one wants to talk about it, yet it is the
most important conversation you may ever have. We must
change this attitude. We know through the Kentucky Bar
Association’s efforts to prevent lawyer suicides that simply
having open conversations about the topic is a start and that
promoting the existence and use of the Lawyers Assistance
Program for mental health care works for prevention.
My hope is that by creating the State Bar’s Suicide Prevention
Program we would open the conversation about this critical
issue, which is the first step to actual prevention. We know
for certain the efforts have, to
date, saved the lives of at least
two Georgia lawyers. Perhaps,
one day, it will be the Bar Member
who complained about having to
watch the Suicide Prevention
video whose life we save.
Perhaps, one day, it will be yours.
In the meantime, if you are
worried a friend may be thinking
about suicide, immediate action
is critical. Call the LAP Hotline
1-800-327-9631 or the National
Suicide Prevention Hotline at
1-800-273-TALK
(8255)
for
a referral. Staffed by trained
counselors 24-hours a day,
seven days a week, the hotline
is for anyone associated with
the legal profession who has a
personal problem that is causing
you significant concern. LAP also offers up to six prepaid
in-person, totally confidential counseling sessions with a
licensed counselor per year. To help meet the needs of its
members and ensure confidentiality, the Bar contracts the
services of CorpCare Associates Inc. Employee Assistance
Program, a Georgia-headquartered national counseling
agency.
I encourage you to join the conversation. I encourage
you to intervene should one of your friends or colleagues
show signs of despondency and a downward spiral. Maybe
together we can save a life.
1
This information was set forth in an article by the Louisville Courier
Journal, by Andrew Wolfson, and was compiled by him from independent
sources. KYLAP was not at all affiliated with the compilation of information.
All contact with KYLAP is confidential. S.Ct.R. 3.990).
May 2015
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
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