Suicide prevention in an (out)closed society

Lecture and Talk with Katharina Bennefeld-Kersten

The subject of suicide is a central topic in many areas of life that needs to be talked about. A suicide usually means drastic upheaval for the relatives, but also for those who are confronted with it professionally. An intention to commit suicide, seeing the end of life as a possibility, often indicates that something wants or needs to be changed about life's circumstances. When thinking of "prisons," of detention centers, one might first think of very fixed structures with little room for adjustment of environmental factors, of isolation and confinement. What social and legal space do we enter when we get into a detention center? How is detention organized, who works there, what types of detention come together? And what about suicide prevention in a community that is excluded from the rest of society?

We will address these and other questions with the psychologist and author and former director of the Celle correctional facility Katharina Bennefeld-Kersten.

Dr. Katharina Bennefeld-Kersten is a psychologist and author who advocates for suicide prevention in prisons.