Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, a biweekly podcast from the American Psychological Association.

I'm your host, Caitlin Luna. Suicide rates in the U.S. climbed in all but one state from

1999 to 2016, according to a CDC report issued in June 2018. This alarming report

and notable celebrity suicide deaths like Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade have pushed this topic

further into the national spotlight. In this episode, we'll be exploring the factors that

cause people to die from suicide, the effects of past trauma

on mental health, and how psychologists can successfully treat suicidal patients. Our guest is Dr. Samuel

Knapp, a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania who has worked in rural community mental health centers

delivering psychotherapy and crisis intervention services. He's the author of the forthcoming book, Suicide Prevention,

an ethically and scientifically informed approach that will be published by APA in August.

Suicide is also the cover story for the July-August issue of the Monitor on Psychology,

APA's magazine for members that covers science, education, psychology practice,

and more. Welcome, Dr. Knapp.

Thank you.

My first question for you is, why do people die from suicide?

Suicide is multi-determined, meaning that many factors can be involved, but we have identified

some common factors that reappear over and over again.

One of the major ones is a lack of social connections, so that people perceive themselves as unwanted or as a burden to others.

In fact, Dr. Thomas Joyner, unwanted or as a burden to others.

In fact, Dr. Thomas Joyner, a noted suicidologist, has used the term perceived burdensomeness to describe that sense of being a burden on others.

And as a society, it appears that we are becoming more disconnected from each other and that may be

a factor in the increase in the suicide rates but you know the immediate cause might be a disruption

...