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A compassionate guide to managing suicidal thoughts and finding hope
If you’re struggling with suicidal thoughts, please know that you are not alone and that you are worthy of help. Your life and well-being matter. When you’re suffering, life’s challenges can feel overwhelming and even insurmountable. This workbook is here to help you find relief and solutions when suicidal thoughts take over.
Grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this compassionate workbook offers practical tools to guide you toward a place of hope. It will help you identify your reasons for living, manage intense emotions and painful thoughts, and create a safe environment when you are in a crisis. You’ll also find ways to strengthen social connections, foster self-compassion, and rediscover activities that bring joy and meaning to your life. This workbook is here to support you. However you are feeling at this moment, remember the following: You are worth it, you are loved, and you matter.
AUTHORS
Kathryn Hope Gordon, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Prior to working as a therapist, Gordon was a professor for ten years. She is a mental health researcher who has published more than eighty scientific articles and book chapters on suicidal behavior, disordered eating, and related topics. Gordon cohosts the Psychodrama podcast, blogs for Psychology Today, and shares mental health information through her website: www.kathrynhgordon.com.
Foreword writer Thomas Ellis Joiner, Jr., PhD, is Bright-Burton professor of psychology, and director of the University Psychology Clinic at Florida State University. He has served as associate editor of the Journal of Behavior Therapy; and sits on ten editorial boards, including that of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
PRAISE
“Kathryn Gordon’s workbook helped me self-reflect when I didn’t feel like I could handle my thoughts. When all feels lost, resources like this are exactly what we need: hopeful, analytical, educational, and practical. I will absolutely be recommending the book to others who might be feeling the same pain of suicidal ideation or hopelessness, as well as those who are looking to better understand and help their loved ones.”
—Marie Shanley aka Mxiety, mental health advocate, live talk show host, and author of Well That Explains It
“Kathryn Gordon has translated our best theoretical and scientific understandings about why people are suicidal into an elegant, accessible, and easy-to-use workbook. Short chapters are full of practical and reproducible worksheets that walk the reader through hope and healing. She pairs her deep knowledge of the suicidal person with her expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to create an invaluable resource for clients, their family and friends, and mental health professionals.”
—Jonathan B. Singer, PhD, LCSW, president of the American Association of Suicidology, and coauthor of Suicide in Schools
“Immediately helpful, this outstanding workbook offers wisdom and big-impact strategies to give you hope—that you can cope with setbacks, work through painful thoughts and feelings, find greater meaning in life, address obstacles to success, and live with purpose. Written with a supportive, encouraging tone, Kathryn Gordon guides you through the challenge of addressing suicidal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with insight, self-compassion, and action. For anyone overwhelmed by pain and hopelessness, this essential resource will help you take the necessary steps to get your life back.”
—Joel Minden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist, and author of Show Your Anxiety Who’s Boss
