Rational Suicide in the Elderly Clinical, Ethical, and Sociocultural Aspects /

• Corporate Author: SpringerLink (Online service)
• Other Authors: McCue, Robert E. (Editor), Balasubramaniam, Meera (Editor)
• Format: Electronic eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer, 2017.
• Subjects: Medicine.; General practice (Medicine).; Public health.; Geriatrics.; Primary care (Medicine).; Psychiatry.; Psychotherapy.; Medicine & Public Health.; Geriatrics/Gerontology.; Public Health.; General Practice / Family Medicine.; Primary Care Medicine.

This book provides a comprehensive view of rational suicide in the elderly, a group that has nearly twice the rate of suicide when chronically ill than any other demographic. Views of rational suicide are evolving, particularly because of a growing older population with a longer life expectancy. How...

Table of Contents:

• Introduction (McCue)
• Elderly suicide through history (McCue)
• Acceptability of elderly suicide across cultures
• Baby boomers and the wish to control life and death
• Can suicide in the elderly be rational? (Lawrence Nelson)
• Clinical criteria for rational suicide in the elderly
• Who are the elderly who want to end their lives?
• Existential issues in late-life rational suicide
• Psychological issues in late-life rational suicide (Elissa Kolva)
• Psychodynamic issues in late-life rational suicide (Balasubramaniam)
• Terminal mental illness and the wish to die (Barbara Sommer)
• The impact of spirituality on the rationality of suicide
• The impact of psychotherapy on the rationality of suicide (Elissa Kolva)
• The impact of psychopharmacology on the rationality of suicide (Balasubramaniam)
• Commentary.