Exploring the Suicidal Narrative: How Stories Shape Suicide Risk
In this course, Matias Gay explains how the stories people tell about themselves, their goals, their failures, and their relationships can shape suicide risk. Drawing on the suicidal narrative framework, he shows you how to recognise escalating patterns of perfectionism, shame, burdensomeness, disconnection, and entrapment, and how a narrative identity lens can deepen assessment and intervention.
About this course
In this course, registered nurse Matias Gay, RN, introduces the concept of the suicidal narrative and its relevance for contemporary suicide risk assessment. He explores how narrative identity, perfectionistic goal structures, expectations of happiness, social defeat, burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and entrapment interact to shape suicidal crises. Through applied examples and a youth case formulation, the course highlights how you can move beyond surface-level symptom inquiry to understand how clients are making meaning of distress, loss, and perceived failure. The practical impact for clinicians lies in improving formulation, deepening empathic assessment, and identifying opportunities to restore purpose, connection, and future orientation.
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