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ASSIP - Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program. A manual for clinicians, edited by Konrad Michel and Anja Gysin-Maillart, Götingen, Hogrefe Publishing, 2015, x + 114 pp., euro41.95 (print edition), ISBN 978-0-88937-476-8
ASSIP - Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program: A manual for clinicians presents an innovative therapy approach to working with individuals who have attempted suicide, based on the theory of goal-oriented action and narrative interviewing (Michel & Valach, 1997). This short intervention programme was developed by experienced mental health practitioners and researchers, Dr Konrad Michel, a clinical psychiatrist and a psychotherapist, and Dr Anja Gysin-Maillart, a clinical psychologist and a psychotherapist, both af fi liated with Bern University, Switzerland. Dr Michel is also the initiator of the Aeschi Working Group (http://www.aeschiconference. unibe.ch/aeschiconference8.html), an international group of clinicians and researchers focusing on the therapeutic approach to the suicidal patient and developing new perspectives for health professionals. ASSIP is based on the accumulated theoretical and research-based insights from the Aeschi approach (Michel & Jobes, 2010).
ASSIP involves three 90-minute therapy sessions: a narrative interview (first session), video playback (second session) and formulating the patterns leading to the suicidal crisis (third session). The optional fourth session involves re-exposure. These sessions are followed by a series of letters sent to the patient over the period of two years. ASSIP is not a stand-alone therapy; it should complement, not replace, the usual clinical management and follow-up treatment after a suicide attempt. This short intervention programme can be implemented in a wide a range of treatment settings, including inpatient, outpatient or day hospital settings; however, according to the authors, the intervention is not suitable for suicidal patients with a Borderline Personality Disorder or psychotic disorders.
The book consists of three complimentary parts. The first...