This is a fantastic book for anyone who is dealing with suicidal acts or ideation in their own lives, or if you are close to or working with someone who is.

Dr. Gordon shares clear methods to help reduce these ideations and understand why these intrusive thoughts arrive and persist and what do do about them.

I highly recommend this book as someone who has struggled with these challenges myself!

Excellent workbook!

I work heavily in the area of suicide and risk management in prison and have used portions of this workbook a number of times now. It's clear, concise, and simple enough for client even with mild cognitive impairments.

The activities are interesting, the wording simple, and I see myself using this one as a go to, for sure.

Thanks so much the for ARC, I'm only sorry it's taken me so long to leave a review!

Very insightful and helpful. Some of the suggestions sound hard to implement. For instance, when overwhelmed with suicidal thoughts, its hard to just switch my thoughts to something positive. However, definitely worth a try. I found the chapter on building relationships to be quite helpful.

I found The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook by Kathryn Hope Gordon to be a great resource for individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts. I like how the author incorporated cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness, and HOPE (help-seeking, optimism, changing perspective, and attending to emotions) into the workbook. #TheSuicidalThoughtsWorkbook #NetGalley

The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook by Kathryn Hope Gordon aims to support people experiencing thoughts of suicide to help manage their emotional pain, drawing on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) strategies.

The book begins by guiding the reader through worksheets to reflect on reactions to the suicidal thoughts and identify risk factors and elements in the environment that may contribute. There are also worksheets to identify social supports and prepare a crisis plan. The author describes the Three-Step Theory, which I hadn’t heard of before, to help readers understand how suicide can arise from pain, hopelessness, and loss of connection.

CBT techniques that are covered include problem-solving approaches, reframing negative thought, and changing attributions. Mindfulness is also incorporated. The acronym HOPE is used to group various strategies as help-seeking, optimism, changing perspective, and attending to emotions.

The chapter on relationships made me cringe a little bit. One of the suggestions was that if you feel lonely, you could try meeting people on a dating app. I met with a therapist once who suggested I start dating to deal with my depression, which seemed wildly inappropriate. The book also talked about strengthening old and creating new relationships, and joining a community choir was one of the suggestions. I can see where the author is trying to go, but really, there’s a time and a place, and I’m not convinced this is it this is it.

There was a suggestion that instead of daydreaming about suicide, you should try daydreaming about something you’re looking forward to. I’m not a daydreamer, and maybe this is just me, but when I’m suicidal, there’s sweet bugger-all that I’m looking forward to, with perhaps the exception of being dead. If I was looking forward to something, would I really be wanting to off myself?

I think this author was trying to be kind and gentle and compassionate. I found the thanking and the praising a bit much, but then I’m probably a cynical old goat. This book is written for an audience that needs kind and gentle, not so much for people like me who’ve been around the block a few times and have the cynicism to show for it. It wasn’t really my cup of tea, but I think it would do a good job of serving the audience that it’s (not explicitly) aimed at.



I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook by Kathryn Hope Gordon PhD is an interesting and informative read. Very intense at times.

Just used some of this book with a couple teens I work with. Fantastic stuff and really gets to the point of the issues presented. Very easy reading and great reading to share with clients.

Found it very interesting and helpful, but towards the third chapter, it felt overwhelming and could not go on.

As someone studying Clinical Mental Health, I am impressed with Dr. Gordon’s ability to tackle suicidal thoughts in a workbook form. When I received this book, I knew it was a book with the potential to do important work. It does not disappoint. Gordon does an excellent job of identifying key CBT concepts and allowing her readers to work through thoughts and emotions while also putting words to the taboo subject of suicide ideation, a subject that normally makes people uncomfortable. She does a good job of providing research while not bogging down the reader or distracting from helping the person in need. I can see future readers benefiting from this workbook particularly if they work through the exercises under the guidance of a licensed therapist. Gordon’s humanity, care, and compassion radiate out of the pages. She has genuine positive regard for those who might pick up her book. I hope clinicians read this workbook and incorporate Gordon’s exercises into their practice. I am grateful that she has tackled this difficult subject. (If you are contemplating suicide, please seek help: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-8255. You matter.)

I wish I had this as a teenaged me. It's a great resource to help you see the light, which can be a very hard thing to do sometimes. It also helps you understand where these are coming from. I appreciated that it wasn't faith-based and was instead based on concepts found in cognitive behavior therapy.