resources

The 10th Aeschi Conference
took place in May 30-June 1, 2019 in Vail, Colorado
Theme: Affirming the Relevance of Narrative in Contemporary Suicide Assessment and Treatment

Organizer: The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, in cooperation with the Aeschi Working Group

took place in June 8-10, 2017, in Vail, Colorado

Theme: Suicide Across the Lifespan: Relational Models of Treatment

The 8th Aeschi Conference took place in June 11-13, 2015 in Vail, Colorado

Once more, the tradition of the Aeschi Conferences was continued with yet another successful learning experience in clinical suicide prevention
Overall Theme of Aeschi 8:
Bearing the Struggle: Exploring the Challenges Facing Clinicians Working with Suicidal Patients

As usual, Aeschi 8 was organized around highly interactive lectures, seminars, and workshops. The faculty included some of the leading experts in the clinical management of suicidal patients: David Jobes of Catholic University of America, Konrad Michel of the University of Bern, Marjan Holloway of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, J. Michael Bostwick of Mayo Clinic, Christine Moutier of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Gregory K. Brown of the University of Pennsylvania, M. David Rudd of the University of Memphis, Dr. Alex Sabo of Berkshire Medical Center, Brian A. Palmer of Mayo Clinic, and many others.

The 7th Aeschi Conference took place in Vail, Colorado,
Sonnenalp Resort, May 29 - June 1, 2013

Basic Principles in Working with Suicidal Patients” was the inaugural theme of a Mayo Clinic-sponsored three-day conference in Vail, Colorado, May 30-June 1, 2013. Organized around highly interactive lectures, videotaped interviews, seminars, and workshops, a limited number of participants came to the Rockies to learn an innovative approach for working with suicidal patients. Drawing upon principles developed in a series of conferences at Aeschi, Switzerland, the Aeschi approach emphasized the importance of therapist-client collaboration in eliciting narratives of mental anguish that culminate in suicidal behavior.

The voice of a participant:
„Again, thank you for the opportunity to join you in Vail and to share in the Aeschi experience. It indeed is a paradigm shift in not only clinical treatment of suicidal people, but utterly vital for our nation and the world as we struggle with the tragic aftermath of more than 1 million suicides every year.“Denise Pazur

Presentation: Introduction to Aeschi West, Konrad Michel (pdf)

ASSIP - ATTEMPTED SUICIDE SHORT INTERVENTION PROGRAM
Konrad Michel, Anja Gysin-Maillart

Product Description

An innovative and highly effective brief therapy for suicidal patients – a complete treatment manual

Attempted suicide is the main risk factor for suicide. The Attempted Suicide Short Intervention Program (ASSIP) described in this manual is an innovative brief therapy that has proven in published clinical trials to be highly effective in reducing the risk of further attempts. ASSIP is the result of the authors’ extensive practical experience in the treatment of suicidal individuals. The emphasis is on the therapeutic alliance with the suicidal patient, based on an initial patient-oriented narrative interview. The four therapy sessions are followed by continuing contact with patients by means of regular letters.  This clearly structured manual starts with an overview of suicide and suicide prevention, followed by a practical, step-by-step description of this highly structured treatment. It includes numerous checklists, handouts, and standardized letters for use by health professionals in various clinical settings.

ASSIP has been evaluated in a randomized controlled study involving 120 patients with a 24-months follow-up. The study is available as open access publication in PLOS Medicine.

An article in Archives of Suicide Research demonstrated that in ASSIP the patient-rated quality oft he therapeutic relationship was associated with reduced suicide ideation over a 12 months follow-up period.

A study from the London School of Economics LSE, published in JAMA Network Psychiatry, found ASSIP to be highly cost-saving in reducing the number of suicide attempts. The study demonstrated that ASSIP, including the costs of training, had a 96% chance of being less costly and more effective than treatment as usual.

Presentation by Konrad Michel in Gothenburg, Sweden, 2017, at the annual Congress for Suicide Prevention: "Good reasons for listening to the narratives of suicidal persons“ (video; ppt).