Definitions

This chapter discusses definitions of suicidal behaviour and some of the terminology used. There is no universally agreed nomenclature and a variety of terms have been used to capture the diversity of suicidal behaviour. Broadly speaking, approaches have tried to either categorize suicidal behaviour on the basis of intent or else regarded suicidal behaviour as along a continuum. Of course suicidal behaviour is exactly that—a behaviour and not a psychiatric disorder in its own right. A simple pragmatic approach to terminology might be most useful because this allows for flexible individualized clinical management.