We recently received an email with guidelines for reporting suicide. The premise of the email was that reporting suicide can lead to an increase in suicides through copycat events, so it essentially should be avoided.

It is not something OLO really touches, although recently I was forced to think more deeply about it when listening to Radio National documentary Losing Erin http://www.abc.net.au/rn/360/stories/2009/2655822.htm about a youngish depressed woman who suicided in Tijuana following Philip Nitschke's advice. We have published Nitschke.

I thought about it again this morning when reading this Nine MSN report about a man suiciding over web cam in Chile http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/858828/man-hangs-himself-as-ex-watches-on-web/?rss=yes. What struck me particularly was the footnote at the end of the article suggesting anyone who was disturbed might contact Lifeline or SANE and providing telephone numbers. Is this genuine sensitivity, or the journalistic equivalent of crossed-fingers?

So I thought the question worth airing. Under what circumstances is it right to report suicides (or anything else detrimental that might lead to copy cats)? What ought the guiding principles to be in these circumstances? What role do people like Nitschke play? Or organisations like Nine, or OLO? Is suicide always or ever wrong, or can it be a basic human right?

I have experienced the effects of suicide in family & friends. Having sort of gotten a whiff afterwards as to why these people have reached that point, it is plainly obvious that they do it because of other people. Apart of course, those with debilitating physical illness but that is understandable.
How many times do we hear "if only we had known he/she was so distressed & resort to that tragic alternative". Well, I say if only we would listen ! In most cases the blame lies fair & square with those left behind. The sad part is that it usually involves decent & caring people who feel let down & betrayed by society & usually they thought right.

Wow, Graham, that's a whole lot of opinions you are canvassing for so I shan't seek to address all of them in one post, but will concentrate rather on what prompted the post: the directive that suicide should not be reported.

As you and many OLO posters will be aware, I did a lot of work in this field and gained the rather dubious qualification of "Suicide Interventionist" back around 2000.

This is also now my 4th year out of the country in China so I am somewhat out of the loop on what has been happening since I left.

But I am amazed at this turn-around in opinion since the time I w
ent around publiclly speaking out about suicide. The huge move to open up the dialoge about suicide depended on getting the subject acknowledged rather than swept under the carpet.

Giving coverage to suicide was seen as a necessary tool for anchoring it firmly in the public consciousness through releasing numbers, raising awareness through de-mystifying the subject and causing the kind of concern which led to so many initiatives which especially helped young people.

I gave it a lot of thought but I still tend to stick to my original guns, I think.

Violent crime is increasingly being reported in more and more graphic ways. Violent movies have spawned a revolution in the field of FX as film-makers seek ever more " realistic" ways to depict pain, suffering, torture and gratuitous mutilation and terror.

But any calls for curtailment of this trend run slap bang into the denial of liberties and censorship debates. People who support such curtailment regularly bring out the "copy-cat" theory and are just as regularly shouted down.

I wonder if this issue will attract any such heated exchanges? Or has the return to pretending that if we ignore it it will just go away already begun its insidious work?

Secularism can do nothing but result in many more suicides. You would think here in Australia where our living standards have never been higher that suicide would be on the decline. The opposite has taken place as teenagers have been encouraged to experiment with drugs, sex and alcohol. Our morally bereft social engineers will wake up one day to the fact that the religion of me (secularism) leads to death spiritually, by abortion and by suicide. The problem will not improve because blinded secularist will never ask the right questions.

“..The opposite has taken place as teenagers have been encouraged to experiment with drugs, sex and alcohol. Our morally bereft social engineers will wake up one day to the fact that the religion of me (secularism) leads to death spiritually, by abortion and by suicide. The problem will not improve because blinded secularist will never ask the right questions.”

Woah. I believe that is too much of a leap, teenagers experimenting with drugs, alcohol and sex is not attempted suicide. Isn’t it more an overabundance of fun that can lead to some tragic accidents because mostly they think they are immortal?

What’s the right question Runner?

I think we have to talk about everything and loudly. Information is power? Knowledge gets you kicked out of gardens so some people don’t like it?

Dear Graham,

One of my best friends committed suicide.
She was young, extremely outgoing by nature,
and seemed to have a rich and full life.
Her death came as a shock to everyone.
No one knew the depths of her despair.
And all of us felt, "If only..."

I agree with another poster who said - the more
we talk about things - the more open we are in
discussing all subjects - including difficult
ones like death - the less we shy away from them -
the better informed we and future generations will
be - and more importantly - the more approachable
we are regarding these matters - perhaps we'll be
able to provide the help that is needed before it
becomes too late.

GY
Like Romany I too have done time in Crisis Counselling(about 12 years all up).Much of that on the 'Suicide shift' (10pm to 7 am) and on on site 'Personal Intervention Teams' (PIT) (albeit a few years back now).

The way you phrased the question I see two issues. There is some thought that one leads to the other.

I agree with Romany the level of Graphical depictions and presentation of such incidents at best certainly doesn't help the vulnerable. The constant barrage of violence has the effect of escalating the desensitising the public. This tends to lead to the next level of sensationalising of violence and depiction of suicides etc. one manner it glorifies these actions by the nature of their presentation. Namely, it gets widespread coverage...attention. The more attention potentially the greater the appeal for such an extreme action to certain classes of vulnerable people.

The issue of the WA case had little to do with Philip Nitschke per sec it could have been any number of web sites. The real issue was her Post natal depression and the probable failures in treating it.

The Chilean case was a case in fact for unnecessary publication. I can see some emotionally volatile teenager imitating this.

The bit at the bottom was a cynical attempt to not look like ghouls seeking the sensation and wouldn't register with the truly confused/desperate or despondent i.e. the teenager mentioned above. Make no bones about it The wide media is more about sensation to get rating in order to sell advertising and usually nothing to do with real concern because that is unglamourous, and requires hard effort.

In formed discussion about the issue of the right to “end one's life”, “die with dignity” is appropriate what may not be appropriate is discussions on specific identifiable people....consideration for the privacy of the person's friends and rellies. Likewise controlling hysterical/abusive/dogma based responses.

Clearly discussions should be on a generalised level. IMO Specifics of methods etc. should be avoided to protect the vulnerable from precipitous actions.

Romany
Welcome back

Runner obviously believes in the Michael Cain approach...if you put you oar in often enough eventually by the law of averages you have to hit a winner.

Not this time... When Lifeline was still establishing the counselors were all from the parent church their success rate was poor as were the number of volunteers. Then it went to MUST be Christian eventually it came down to must be a caring person AND be able to set aside their personal beliefs.This meant dealing with the clients in a non judgmental terms on their terms...(empathy)and trained skills that have nothing to do with any religion.
Question why?

By the way be careful how he throw around religion and secular in the same context he is are showing his sledge hammer "reasoning" (sic)(prejudices). Which is potentially insultingly WRONG.

No we need to be careful, copy cats exist and the sympathy and horror we show can turn some to trying it.
Far too many have died this way in my workplace, being aware of others feelings, understanding we should take the time to listen helps.
Not doing it, after the event hurts.

How we talk about suicide is as important as if we talk about it.

People are expected to say nice things about the deceased. While this is well intentioned, it can lead to suicide ideation. This happens where other people fantasise about how they could kill themselves and everyone would say such nice things about them and would be soooo sorry for any meanness.

I know that it sounds mean, but when someone kills themself, others need to avoid getting too sentimental about the person who died.

This is very close to the bone for me. My two children attend a Geelong high school that had the unfortunate circumstance of four teenage suicides this year and made the news country wide. Both my children lost classmates and friends and my youngest is only now managing to put a full week together without tears.

This should not have impacted on such young lives, but it has, and as a family and a school community it has been a harrowing time.

The school staff and the students are supporting each other amazingly well but it is not easy. However there is, particularly among these two groups, real anger about the reporting of these tragic circumstances. Some of the media behaved atrociously, approaching bewildered students seeming to offer support but without identifying themselves initially as press. That anger will remain for a long time.

Until recently, I had felt the media, which had a strong and clear set of guidelines on reporting of youth suicide, had been on the whole responsible. These guidelines had been in place since the mid nineties and during that time there had been an over 50% drop in 15 to 19 year old males suicide rates from 19.6 per 100,000 in 1997 to 9.3 in 2007. Female teenager suicide rates dropped from 5.3 to 3.9 over the same period.

I can not claim the press guidelines were the main contributor but certainly the protocols around youth suicide all have combined to save lives.

That this restraint seemed to have been lifted was of deep concern, especially to parents from our school who could not help but feel vulnerable.

Principals of other schools were said to have been very anxious for what the new regime would mean for students in their care. Thankfully, in Geelong at least, the suicide of another youth at a different school received a very muted response in the media.

I am very far from the politics of one Jeff Kennett but his efforts at stopping the 60 minutes program was applauded soundly by many I know.

Let us hope sanity prevails.

CSteele, All.

As a counselor that took heaps of suicide calls, I can tell you that every time a salacious story hit the airwaves the Personal intervention Team had a rugged night not so much with copy cat of methodology but attempts went up.

Odd fact, every time there were a big holiday CHRISTMAS, mothers day etc or the weather went into extremes the phones on the Suicide shift would run hot.

In both instances we rostered on extra personnel to cope.

Exam:”The Chilean case was a case in fact for unnecessary publication. I can see some emotionally volatile teenager imitating this.”

I don’t know this Chilean thing but can guess. But teens copy everything; Jackass must have had emergency room staff just spewing. The Twilight series – even I know about a group of local fools that think sucking each other’s blood is cool.

My kids at their first teen Oz party and a dude covered in petrol locked himself in his car and went up in flames.

How should we talk about it? Don’t the ones that achieved death deserve sympathy? Anyone copying them was depressed so that is what some awareness should go in to?

Romany (where were you?) and Exam… what do you say if a person calls saying they want to kill themselves? Do they ring already having decided the how and when of it? What makes them stop to make a call?

Had a teen here recently really upset because her GP told her she was suicidal and told her parents… The fool annoyed me no end, planting a seed like that.

Ah Romany's just dropped in again to remind us all she lives in China!

Great to see you fitted in a mention to you being in China Romany. You never disappoint.

Hey, did I mention I'm in China! 4 years now!

Piper,

'Knowledge gets you kicked out of gardens so some people don’t like it?'
Is that carnal knowledge? Yeah I'm slow.

'Jackass must have had emergency room staff just spewing.'
Haha. Yeah they must!

Runner,

'teenagers have been encouraged to experiment with drugs, sex and alcohol.'
Man, I was never encouraged. I must have missed that. BTW alcohol is a drug. Hey do you drink coffee? C'mon!

individual,

'In most cases the blame lies fair & square with those left behind. '

Oh come on. You're kidding yourself. The 'blame' lies with the person doing it. Did you tell those family and friends 'it's really all your fault' after their loved one committed suicide. Nice one!

examinator,

Hey imagine if I'd have gotten on to your crisis line when I was younger. I'm sure it wouldn't have ended well. All that pompous judgement would have definitely pushed me over the edge. Actually maybe the world would have been a nicer place huh? But according to individual, it'd be your fault too, and my family and friends'. Cool! Do you have anyone to hand over to if you get a personality clash?

benk,

'This happens where other people fantasise about how they could kill themselves and everyone would say such nice things about them and would be soooo sorry for any meanness.

I know that it sounds mean, but when someone kills themself, others need to avoid getting too sentimental about the person who died.'

BINGO! We shouldn't encourage martyrs.

H,
tis better to be silent and be thought perhaps a fool that to open your mouth and remove all doubt. That's four consecutive times your criticism is contrary to the what I wrote. You are confirming my view that you can't comprehend complex thoughts.
I won't respond anymore to you on the grounds that one shouldn't argue with an idiot because they'll drag me down to their level and beat me with experience.

Houel:”BINGO! We shouldn't encourage martyrs.”

Why the hell not? I say bring them back, and Berserkers and I think there should be a Spanish Inquisition soon. Jeez we got bloody soft aye.

These people that complain about the world being overpopulated and then do everything they can to keep all people around for as long as possible. MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

So what’s eating you this morning Houel? I think it’s cool that Romany is in China and I’m sure I mention every few minutes that I run a rehab for rugrats. Wish more people would mention personal circumstances; it would make it easier for me to make use of what they know.

Today I need a child sexual abuse counselor and someone who knows lots about depression triggers and someone who can explain deformed baby skulls to me. Oh and a window treatment specialist… I’m thinking blinds.

examinator,

'That's four consecutive times your criticism is contrary to the what I wrote.'

Please outline them. I didn't address any argument you made on this topic, so how could I contradict or miss-comprehended anything?

Don't worry though, we did get it. You're the altruistic counsellor that people should be more like...

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2970#69507

'You are confirming my view that you can't comprehend complex thoughts.'

Yeah but that's where you're wrong. Unless you believe you're the only one on OLO that has complex thoughts, because I can understand everyone else. See I knew you were pompous and arrogant. Cant be you can it?

Piper,

'So what’s eating you this morning Houel?'

Nothing. That's just my normal demeanour. Where have you been?

'I think it’s cool that Romany is in China'
So does she. Hey, did I mention she's in China?

'I’m sure I mention every few minutes that I run a rehab for rugrats.'

Yeah but I like you. You're one of the only ones who I like. You and Col. That davidf seems ok too. I used to like Ginx, especially after someone called her 'the vile Ginx'. And I like SJF, everyone thinks she's serious but she just plays a part like me and I find her funny.

I can safely say you don't read as someone wanting to big note themselves like Romany and Exam. You don't judge people like them either.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2970#69664

'Wish more people would mention personal circumstances'

Yeah but if you do, people use it against you. They use the info to get at ya. I don't like people getting at me. Like, since anti has said he broke up with his missus, CJ hounds him about being lonely and not getting a shag and uses the info to put him down all the time. Especially if you don't fit into the clique, it's better to keep a low profile

Shucks Houel man, thanks. You know it’s mutual though aye. I get personal information being used as a weapon thing. I’m just bloody brave is all.[grin]

And I have been out, since you’re askin’ – I went to the doctors and he talked to me for ages in Polish, I don’t speak Polish so I don’t know how to tell him that I have no idea what he is saying to me. I got legal drugs though, fair trade.

And freakier still I just advised someone about suicide as I was writing this, I looked up and said to darling foster child “let me know where you are at all times and if you get upset txt someone, not me though cause I don’t have a mobile, and if you’re going to commit suicide let me know first so I don’t waste time looking for you”. Tell ya, my face is gonna be red…

Hey Houel if I find out you’re a window treatment salesman in a few years I’m going to be seriously aggravated.

Yep. There's a bit of cyber-bullying happens on this forum from time to time, and even if you're playing a role H it's still bullying. Makes me wonder where to draw the line as moderator sometimes.

But it also gets us back onto the topic. There was a recent example of a child who committed suicide after being bullied by a neighbour http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10313304-38.html. In these days where much of the content on websites is user generated perhaps the thread needs to be interpreted more broadly. What responsibility do commenters owe as well as the publisher? And not just for perhaps talking about suicide, but for actions which might precipitate one?

GY:“Yep. There's a bit of cyber-bullying happens on this forum from time to time, and even if you're playing a role H it's still bullying. Makes me wonder where to draw the line as moderator sometimes.”

Put the boot in Graham wooohooo! (I’m so going to get you Houel for that snipe at me in articles)

“…What responsibility do commenters owe as well as the publisher? And not just for perhaps talking about suicide, but for actions which might precipitate one?”

[cough] Who in general is held accountable for content on a site? A suggestion that there are moderators would make one assume that they are in fact there to moderate. Are bouncers at a pub ultimately responsible if they stand back and let a person get victimized? The law wouldn’t say anything even if the owner might sack them?

I would like to request that any future talk of spiders is banned across the country, it upsets me.

This is a bit of a jumble as I tried to find if internet information or communication was a common trigger for suicide. The only thing I could link to suicide was maybe on line you could be humiliated. But suicidal people first usually had a variety of stuff wrong with them.

From googled stuff:

Suicidal thoughts are troubling, especially when accompanied by depression, other mental illnesses, alcohol or drug abuse, or plans for suicide. This situation demands immediate evaluation. These thoughts can indicate serious illness.

The critical distinction is between a person's thoughts regarding death and suicide, and actually wanting to die. When doctors hear that someone wants to die, they refer to these thoughts as suicidal ideation and divide them into 2 categories.

• Suicidal ideation can be active and involve a current desire and plan to die.

• Suicidal ideation can be passive, involving a desire to die but without a plan to bring about one's death.

Triggers:

The break up of a close personal relationship (e.g., engagement or marriage), losing old friends, or interpersonal conflicts

- The death of a close relative or friend

- Suicide loss, especially a child, parent, spouse, or sibling

- Financial loss or incurring major indebtedness

- Rejection (e.g., not getting a job or promotion, not be accepted to a college or graduate school, etc.)

- Loss of self-esteem or status (e.g., losing a job, failing at school, being cut from a team, etc.) or feeling humiliated

- Becoming seriously ill or disabled

- Facing arrest, trial, prison, or other legal difficulty


These Aussie’s if you need help:

http://www.lifeline.org.au/find_help?gclid=CP_76on64ZwCFQ0aawod-RfhBA

PP
Most times the call was various stages of calling for help.
We were taught to use non directive counseling. With comments like 'hmm' and "could you tell me why?" or 'what has caused this frame of mind." etc.

The real scarey one were the ones that were calm and said it as a matter of fact. but that often happened after a few calls. The caller that was calm rational was often this way because they had made the decision and just wanted someone to know or notice.

The key to being a counselor is the ability to deal with the callers problems from their perspective and put your views etc aside. They are important not you. Your focus is crisis intervention not solving
the problems. If you thought it appropriate you encouraged them to come in and see a social worker/counselor who were specially trained.
You were always anonymous. Does that help

Pied P. - Where've I been? Ahh - well you might not be aware of this, but I've been in China. Yep. China. For the past 4 years, actually.

And the first time I put my foot back in the water (all the way from China, mind you) a bloody pirahna bit it.

So this time I'm off (all the way to China!). Over the years I've seen all the moderate and the best eventually give up on OLO for sites where ideas and not people are what are debated.

I used to wonder where they'd gone as people were constantly saying here (though not in China) that this site was a walk in the park compared to the abuse etc. that goes on in other forums.

But now I've had a look around and found this isn't actually so. The Net abounds with forums where people treat each other with respect, crack jokes, talk about stuff other than "I've been done wrong an' now I'm gonna hate everyone else" , and aren't fixated on Immigrants.

I do feel passionate about the subject of suicide and have had a bit of experience in this field. (An "interventionist" gets called out to the site and is supposed to talk the person back. Trouble is, I was so busy big-noting myself every bugger jumped so I was finally shipped out (to China, actually) as part of the Aussie Defence's War against the Yellow Peril to be an interventionist here.)

I simply don't have the energy to start fielding a personal attack which has absolutely nothing to do with the serious content of this thread.

Anyway, girl, you seem to have a pretty good handle on it - as you do on most things. I'll leave it to you. Best wishes. c

ps Did I happen to mention that I live in China? Apparently that's a pretty big deal,so I'd hate you to have missed the fact.

I couldn’t be a counselor Exam. I like to solve problems and then make the person listen to why my idea is the right one for them.

I had a counselor here today with a reluctant client. The client says to me “tell her to go away”, okay it was in much worse language. So I head them off at the gate and tell the counselor that client doesn’t want to talk today and they say they have to hear it from the client. When the counselor asks the client if client wants to come talk to them and the client meekly goes “okay”.

After their chat I get a lecture from the counselor saying I have to parent this client. Then after that the client is upset cause why didn’t I defend client and make the counselor go away. I told client to grow some damn balls (my problem solving in action).

I’d bet ten dollars that counselor goes back to government and says I tried to obstruct counseling though.

This method of non directive counseling…. Is there other effect methods? I think I’m asking if this is one that works on the phone and anon and are there other ones where you know the person or are with the person where other methods are better?

Hey Romany I think it is seriously cool you live in China. I know nothing about the place except it’s big and there is some very cool food to be eaten there.

What is big-noting? The way things are going right now I have been told to watch for – well they never said suicide but severe depression. No training just some vague “if they sleep too much” type thing.

PP
As an interventionist counselor you only have a limited time and solving problems takes time.
I understand your seeing the problem and offering a solution it's logical however people aren't logical (drat) Even here on OLO if one deals with an issue at the base level and then offers a more wide solution I cope pontificator etc. In a counseling situation one is, as a general rule wise never to sound authoritative in the boss sense as it generally taken badly. This is the contrary to in business etc. where you must show you know what you're talking about. i.e. this is the problem and this is the way we solve it.

I think the counselor might have been concerned about the approach and that that you didn't encourage the person to talk to the counselor. Then again I wasn't there so any opinion is full of the usual caveats.

I don't think this is something that is best discussed openly on OLO But if you search out my email I'd be open to discussing it in more detail where you can give me more SITUATIONAL details NO personal details necessary as we'd be discussing 'in theory' techniques and perspectives not specifics. That way Docs can't get upset.
PS a few others have contacted me and I'm not interested in anything like other and they don't get hassles.It's up to you.
examinator.ant

Piper,

I wouldn't trust anything examinator says, you don't even know him. He says he's a counsellor, but what proof do you have? His general demeanour, poor level of literacy, and superior attitude indicate if he is one, he's not very good. A counsellor would be able to use concise clear language to get a point across. He'd also be able to understand my antics and motivations, but he hasn't a clue. I think you should ask for some proof of qualifications before you take any of his advise at the very least.

Suicidal thinking can result from endogenous depression, which is depression relating to physiological imbalance and not necessarily as a response to negative life events.

While this type of depression can be influenced by environmental factors, it is not primarily caused by them. It will only ever respond in a limited way to counselling and/or a lessening of negative environmental influences.

Houellebecq

<< I think you should ask for some proof of qualifications before you take any of his advise at the very least. >>

I think you should make sure that when you're offering 'advise' on the literacy levels of others that your own are pretty damn good.

Houel I wouldn’t even know what the qualifications look like. I’ll take a stab in the dark at your antics and the motivation behind them though...

You’re having fun.

This is why you’re my most favourite Houellebecq in the universe. Well that and the other one is weird.

Bronwyn that was exactly what I was looking for, well 50% or more. It was just I couldn't see how anyone talking about suicide or even demonstrating it publically would be a trigger from sane to dead without a whole lot of other stuff going on.

Piper

I can confirm that Examinator is not a nutter. He is genuine and sincere in offering help.

Unlike some who are not from China.

;-)

“As an interventionist counselor you only have a limited time and solving problems takes time.”

I’m fast.

“I understand your seeing the problem and offering a solution it's logical however people aren't logical (drat) Even here on OLO if one deals with an issue at the base level and then offers a more wide solution I cope pontificator etc.”

Yes well I had to look that word up.

“ In a counseling situation one is, as a general rule wise never to sound authoritative in the boss sense as it generally taken badly. This is the contrary to in business etc. where you must show you know what you're talking about. i.e. this is the problem and this is the way we solve it.”

See I only have to deal with some strange thoughts and behaviours in little children normally. Distraction and the change of enviroment being my biggest weapon.

I think the counselor might have been concerned about the approach and that that you didn't encourage the person to talk to the counselor. Then again I wasn't there so any opinion is full of the usual caveats.

Nah I didn’t encourage the person, I could well understand they’d had enough talking to people at the time. Problem was one department said they’d cancelled and the other didn't know and without someone official saying something no one is going to listen to me.

Today is different, another appointment and client plans to be absent. Immature but much more effective approach. More importantly - no one will blame me.

Hey Fractelle, I'd suggest the boy has China-envy.

I've been thinking about this subject and i think there are a couple of major issues.

Firstly, there is the potential for copy-catting. I don't know how large that is, but I'm sure it must exist. The question is then "would they have done it anyway" and as others have pointed out, anyone who is likely to copy-cat must have underlying problems.

Secondly, and moderating the first point is that some people may seek help if they read of the impacts on those left behind. Once again, I don't know numbers, but I'm sure those people must exist.

Thirdly, and I think most importantly, by not properly reporting such deaths, we may be masking structural social problems that are creating grave distress. For example, father's rights groups have been claiming that the rate of suicide among clients of the CSA is very high. It is difficult to know whether this is accurate, since the CSA no longer publishes the data and claims not to collect it. Surely, if a government agency is creating the conditions for some to suicide rather than try to deal with them we need to know about it? If media highlight the issues, it may force a more open culture of disclosure. Analysis of the official suicide data has revealed other groups, such as young rural men, who are at increased risk and has lead to intervention programs that have been of limited but real benefit.

In the end, as always, I'm in favour of open media and full and frank disclosure of all the information. Any other course leads inevitably to secretive elites leading us by the nose.

Antiseptic, You make some valid points.
I guess it depends on the demographic you're looking at and the motivation.
I can't comment on the CSA figures.
The figures I've read from the states indicate a disturbing trend towards increasingly more lethal incidents with adolescents i.e. Columbine high etc.

There seems to be a partial relationship with the salaciousness of the reporting. Not necessarily the copy cat syndrome more like out spectacular(ing) the last incident...my rage cry of exasperation is deserves more attention.

Other factors include availability to automatic weapons and greater numbers of people and increases in isolation and perceived relative deprivation.

There are many other proven causation links. Not least public lack of sensitivity/understanding to surrounding issues like mental illness depression and their ability to differentiate between the two. Pack mentality, cyber bulling etc.

In reality the causation factors tend to be multiple and cumulative rather than singular...A little from column 'a' and a little from column 'b', 'c', 'd' and so on.

Therefore it is often difficult to pick the trigger (it may be a relatively minor event). e.g. the recent suicide of the 13 yo from cyber bullying from another girl's mum . The mum's status undoubted increased the pressure over the background bullying etc that the girl was experiencing.

I often found that the trigger was considered to be too minor to bother others with. Think of it like this each event tend to add one more notch of heat under the emotional pressure cooker finally it is that extra one trivial notch that is the final 'straw'.

Anyone who has someone who is under pressure needs sensitive/aware monitoring. The difference between a pressure blow up and and explosion is time and or release mechanisms. Hence this is the reasoning behind intervention services

For what its worth, I recently heard a story that changed my views on this considerably. I am usually a free speech freak, meaning that I would naturally favour no restrictions. However I have seen it stated over and over again that publishing suicides causes more suicides. The evidence for this seems to fairly solid. At least, when suicides at a popular location were hushed up, there seems to be no doubt the rates at that location dropped. And when the restrictions on reporting of suicides was introduced so, slowly did the number of suicides. Given that evidence, it is very hard to not to support restrictions on reporting suicides.

But it turns out things are not quite as them seemed. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has now said its rates calculating the nation's suicide rate is flawed and is being revised. The figure of 1800 suicides should be closer to 2,700. It appears suicide rates have not dropped at all. Yes suicide rates dropped at popular sites - but only because no-one knew about them, the choose less popular ones. http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2009/s2663216.htm

It is not hard to see the restrictions on media reporting could go some way to explaining this. Suicides are embarrassing to the family. Pressure is put on to say something else happened. It is so much easy to bow to that pressure if the media is muzzled.

Under reporting has other effects. It means we reduce funding on mental health services, because it less of a problem relative to say, car accidents. It means the victims families don't put as much pressure on out pollies about it, because if it only happens to them it must be somehow their fault. It means we, as a community, don't discuss it and therefore we have less of an idea we should look for, and what we can do about it if we see it. There is after all nothing like hearing that little Johnny down the road topped himself to make your average parent hyper aware of the problem.