A study currently published in the top journal The Lancet Public Health looks at suicide prevention from the point of view of transmission, the transferability of suicidal thoughts and actions, but also of hope and coping strategies. Schools are an important setting for this transmission in children and young people. Based on these findings, a team led by Thomas Niederkrotenthaler from the Medical University of Vienna, who co-authored the publication in The Lancet Public Health, is now implementing and researching a programme for suicide prevention in schools. Suicides are still the second most common cause of death among young people after unintentional injuries. 10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day.
The "Literature for Mental Health" school project aims to improve young people’s mental health literacy and coping skills. Thomas Niederkrotenthaler and his team from MedUni Vienna’s Centre for Public Health are using the novel "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" for the reading sessions, which are led by teachers in language classes. The author J. K. Rowling incorporated her personal experiences with depression into the book, which she reported to have overcome with the help of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
Novel with integrated therapy
The literature classes are focused on cognitive behavioural principles, which Rowling has also integrated into the book. CBT is the gold standard of counselling therapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety. "In fact, the novel can be read as an allegory for her experiences and as an introductory guide to CBT that can be taught by teachers in the classroom. Readers become part of Harry’s journey and learn with him what it means to be depressed and to cope with adversity. Above all, however, they understand how he uses CBT skills to find a path to resilience," says project PI Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, outlining the core of the FWF-funded programme. Heads of secondary schools in Austria are currently being invited to take part in the project. Implementation will begin in the summer semester of 2025 and the effects of the literature study will be assessed by Thomas Niederkrotenthaler and his team. The fact that young people can actually learn to cope with crises from Harry Potter has already been shown in a previous study from Toronto, where the Harry Potter Curriculum was first developed under the leadership of psychiatrist Dr. Mark Sinyor.
In the current Lancet Public Health publication, researchers including Thomas Niederkrotenthaler have investigated suicide prevention from the perspective of transmission. This refers to the contagion of suicidal thoughts and actions, which can lead to the formation of clusters in schools. However, there is also a transmission of positive coping behaviour, especially when skills to overcome difficulties are learned. "School-based mental health curricula are being developed around the world, and the transferability and generalisability of the content are the biggest challenge. Harry Potter is a character that young people can identify with beyond geographical and cultural boundaries. Identifying with the figure offers educators a unique opportunity to use it to promote mental wellbeing," says Niederkrotenthaler about the first comprehensive mental health programme to be embedded directly into language classes.
About the "Reading for Mental Health" project:
https://www.myowl.org/
Support for people in suicidal crisis situations:
www.bittelebe.at , www.suizid-praevention.gv.at
About the publication:
The Lancet Public Health
Public health measures related to the transmissibility of suicide.
Jane Pirkis, Jason Bantjes, Madelyn Gould, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Jo Robinson, Mark Sinyor, Michiko Ueda, Keith Hawton
DOI: 10.1016/IS2468-2667(24)00153-1
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(24)00153-1/fulltext This study is the fourth of six scientific papers on a public health approach to suicide prevention in "The Lancet Public Health". The article series is available at www.thelancet.com/series/suicide-prevention.
