Unraveling the Minds of the Deceased: The Intricate Art of Psychological Autopsies

Beyond the obvious physical evidence, understanding the circumstances surrounding a person's death is a difficult undertaking. A forensic technique used to reconstruct a deceased person's mental state is psychological autopsy. Psychological autopsies seek to understand the psychological elements that contribute to death, as opposed to standard autopsy, which concentrate on the physical evidence. This article examines the history, techniques, and intriguing field of psychological autopsy.

Evolution:

In the 1950s, Farberow and Shneidman, who worked at the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center, invented the psychological autopsy. They created the process in response to the Coroner's request for assistance in determining the cause of death in cases involving ambiguous suicides. Farberow and Shneidman's research of suicide notes from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office had an impact on the process.

When Coroner Theodore J. Curphrey requested assistance from the Suicide Prevention Center to look into a large number of drug-induced deaths, the psychological autopsy method was first applied. The process was also employed after Curphrey recruited Farberow and psychiatrist Robert E. Litman to assist in ascertaining Marilyn Monroe's mental condition before to her passing. After looking into the death, Farberow determined that Monroe's death was likely a suicide.

Procedure:

To shed light on ambiguous deaths—that is, deaths that lack a suitable or obvious mode of death—the psychological autopsy was created. Drug-related deaths, autoerotic and self-induced suffocation, vehicle deaths, and drownings are a few instances of equivocal death scenarios.

• During psychological autopsies, detectives try to determine the deceased person's purpose for passing away.

• Psychological autopsies first try to determine the most likely cause of death, the manner in which a person died, and why they died at a certain moment.

• When a person's cause of death is obvious, investigators try to ascertain the motivations behind their acts.

• Factors like method of death, past suicide threats, and financial account settlement are used to gauge suicidal intent.

• Psychological autopsies also reveal a high correlation between mental health conditions and suicide.

• Information about the deceased obtained from family and friend interviews, as well as details gleaned from the associated forensic investigation into the decedent's death, are analysed to ascertain the intent.

• Details from the deceased person's medical records, such as illnesses, therapies, and treatments received, as well as any family history of death, are also reviewed. Investigators typically search for information about suicide thoughts, use of alcohol and/or drugs, recent traumatic experiences, behavioral patterns in response to stress, and recent behavioral changes.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, psychological autopsies serve as evidence of forensic psychology's interdisciplinary approach. Forensic psychologists help solve riddles and advance knowledge of mental health and its social ramifications by shedding light on the intricacies of the human mind after death. The practice of psychological autopsies is still essential for providing justice in the face of injustice and offering comfort to bereaved families as technology develops and methods change.

Report By: Swethaa S

Reference:

·        https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/death-investigation-introduction-psychological-autopsy

·        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_autopsy

·        https://study.com/learn/lesson/psychological-autopsy-overview-uses.html#:~:text=A%20psychological%20autopsy%20is%20a,be%20explained%20throughout%20the%20lesson.

 

 

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