On location at the IASP's World Congress in Vienna

Marianne Etherson and Krystyna Loney from our Academic Advisory Group (AAG) attended the 33rd World Congress of the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) in Vienna and share their experiences, insights and recent advancements of the field.

The 33rd World Congress of IASP was an inspiring and engaging event filled with hope and innovative research.

The conference brings together researchers, policy makers, clinicians and those with lived and living experience to share knowledge, exchange best practice and build connections.

We were privileged to attend, hear from, and engage with experts in the field of suicide prevention, with the aim of bringing as much learning as possible back to Scotland.

The conference kicked off with Professor Jo Robinson, president of IASP, welcoming delegates to Vienna. Prof Robinson noted key themes of the congress, from young people to older adults, workplace settings, digital innovation, media engagement and postvention.

She highlighted how we will continue to elevate the voices of those with lived and living experience, whose perspectives are key to shaping more effective and compassionate responses to suicide worldwide.

Throughout the four-day congress, there was a wide range of plenary sessions, symposiums, panel discussions, oral presentations and posters.

The “Papageno Effect”

Papageno, a figurine inspired by Mozart’s The Magic Flute and a symbol of hope in suicide prevention, was the mascot of the 33rd World Congress.

The opening ceremony discussed the “Papageno effect”, a phrase coined by Professor Thomas Neiderkrotenthaler, that represents the positive effect that mass media can have on suicide prevention by presenting non-suicide alternatives to crises.

In the 18th-century opera, Papageno was contemplating suicide until other characters showed him an alternative way to resolve his problems. Ultimately, the Papageno effect highlights the role of responsible communication in suicide prevention, offering hope to individuals in crisis.

Delegates were encouraged to #FindPapageno throughout the four-day congress as he was placed around the conference centre. Each time attendees spotted Papageno, they were reminded of the importance of accurate, respectful and safe messaging around suicide prevention.

Recognising contributions of Professor Rory O’Connor and Professor Steve Platt

At every World Congress, the opening ceremony hosts a short session to recognise the contributions of those working in suicide prevention.

In Vienna, Chair of Scotland’s AAG Professor Rory O’Connor was awarded the 2025 Stengel Research Award for ‘outstanding research in the field of suicide prevention’. This highlighted his tireless efforts and contributions to the field over the last 30 years.

Professor Steve Platt, previous co-chair of the AAG, was also awarded a lifetime membership of IASP, for his unwavering dedication to the field, with a focus in social, epidemiological, and cultural aspects of suicide.

Work of the Academic Advisory Group

Across the four days of the congress, members of the AAG shared learning from their work over recent months.

Rory O’Connor led a panel discussion highlighting challenges and opportunities of the recent Lancet Commission on Self-harm.

This body of work describes the scale of self-harm globally and makes 12 recommendations which urge governments to do more to address self-harm, crucially in partnership with those with lived and living experience of self-harm.

Some highlights which struck members of the AAG were the need for delivering compassionate, person-centred care for people who self-harm, a global push for tackling stigma surrounding self-harm, and a call for radical redesign of mental health care.

Later in the week, Rory was part of a symposium on ‘Suicide prevention: From individuals to populations’.

The session aimed to highlight research covering the full spectrum of suicide prevention. This ranged from identifying determinants of suicide, to experimental approaches, population-level approaches, and the use of qualitative methods.

As part of the session, he described the results of three studies examining different components of the Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model (IMV) of Suicidal Behaviour.

Marianne presented her work focusing on perfectionism, feelings of not mattering and suicidal ideation through the lens of the IMV Model.

This work is funded by the Mindstep Foundation, a mental health charity established by the Davies family following the tragic loss of their son Max to suicide. Her work highlighted current gaps in the literature in regard to better understanding the perfectionism-suicidal ideation relationship, discussed the findings of her work, and identified avenues for future research.

Krystyna introduced the AAG and the Creating Hope Together strategy to those within her session. She explained the AAG were tasked with conducting a scoping review to identify suicide prevention actions and/or interventions by organisations that have a staff/user population at high risk of suicide to support as part of this programme of work.

Her presentation described the results of the findings of this review, sharing a small piece of the work going on in Scotland to prevent suicide.

Insights from the Lancet Public Health series panel discussion

On the final day of the World Congress, members of the AAG attended a stimulating panel discussion on a Lancet series of six papers on ‘A public health approach to suicide prevention’, where Professor Jane Pirkis, Professor Keith Hawton, and Professor Murad Khan shared their insights from the recent Lancet Public Health Series.

This discussion was chaired by Professor Alexandra Pitman and discussed a range of topics and questions focused on each of the six papers.

The Lancet Public Health Series argues that we must challenge the narrative surrounding suicide and recognise the importance of social determinants (e.g. poverty, debt, social isolation, homelessness) on the development of suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

The series also argues that we must strive for whole-of-government approaches to suicide prevention which tackle major social determinants of suicide at their source. During the session, Professor Keith Hawton commended work of Scotland’s Creating Hope Together, recognising the efforts which have been made to promote this approach in Scotland.

You can find the series link here.

Connection

One highlight of the congress was the connections made with others working in suicide prevention.

In addition to the important innovations in research and practice shared at the conference, there was ample opportunity for networking including:

• IASP hosted pre-conference workshops where members of the AAG were able to meet other early career researchers (ECRs)

• A Pecha Kucha event, where presenters are uniquely asked to tell their story through images rather than text in six minutes

• A welcome reception with all delegates, guided social gatherings through Vienna’s Old Town

• Special Interest Networking Events and many more!

Throughout the conference, it was the small pockets of conversation with those with a shared mission, that was particularly powerful.

The passion across the community of academics, those with lived and living experience, clinicians, volunteers and other in attendance was incredible. Our shared drive to work together and prevent suicide worldwide is what makes this congress and other suicide prevention conferences so valuable.

References

Etherson, M. E., Rizeq, J., & O’Connor, R. C. (In preparation). Perfectionism, feelings of not mattering, and suicidal ideation: A longitudinal moderated mediation test of the Integrated Motivational–Volitional Model of suicidal behaviour.

Hawton, K., Knipe, D., & Pirkis, J. (2024). Restriction of access to means used for suicide. The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e796-e801.

Hawton, K., & Pirkis, J. (2024). Preventing suicide: a call to action. The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e825-e830.

Loney, K. J. & O’Connor, R. C. (2025). Suicide prevention in high-risk settings: A scoping review. [Unpublished manuscript].

Moran, P., Chandler, A., Dudgeon, P., Kirtley, O. J., Knipe, D., Pirkis, J., ... & Christensen, H. (2024). The Lancet Commission on self-harm. The Lancet, 404(10461), 1445-1492.

Pirkis, J., Bantjes, J., Dandona, R., Knipe, D., Pitman, A., Robinson, J., ... & Hawton, K. (2024). Addressing key risk factors for suicide at a societal level. The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e816-e824.

Pirkis, J., Bantjes, J., Gould, M., Niederkrotenthaler, T., Robinson, J., Sinyor, M., ... & Hawton, K. (2024). Public health measures related to the transmissibility of suicide. The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e807-e815.

Pirkis, J., Dandona, R., Silverman, M., Khan, M., & Hawton, K. (2024). Preventing suicide: a public health approach to a global problem. The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e787-e795.

Sinyor, M., Silverman, M., Pirkis, J., & Hawton, K. (2024). The effect of economic downturn, financial hardship, unemployment, and relevant government responses on suicide. The Lancet Public Health, 9(10), e802-e806.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help, speak to someone you trust or call one of these helplines:

• Samaritans 116 123 or use the online chat at samaritans.org

• Breathing Space 0800 83 85 87

• NHS 24 mental health hub on 111

If you are ever in immediate danger or have the means to cause yourself harm, you should dial 999 and request an ambulance.