Even Behind the Darkest Clouds the Sun Still Glows

Meet Dr. Freedenthal

I am a suicidologist. (Yes, suicidologist is really a word.) My work focuses on all things suicide – helping people stay alive and want to stay alive, guiding loved ones through grief and healing if the worst happens, and teaching students and professionals how to do all of that, too.
Oh, and I am also a cat lady. Meet one of my cats, Lola.

Loving Someone with Suicidal Thoughts

My latest book, Loving Someone with Suicidal Thoughts, was named one of the best mental health books of 2022 by Mashable. Unlike my previous book for professionals, this one is geared toward family, friends, partners, and others who care about someone with suicidal thoughts.

Helping the Suicidal Person

My first book provides a highly practical toolbox for people in the helping professions, from graduate students to seasoned psychotherapists and allied professionals.

Helping the Suicidal Person

My first book provides a highly practical toolbox for people in the helping professions, from graduate students to seasoned psychotherapists and allied professionals.

Speaking of Suicide

A site for people who consider suicide, loved ones, suicide loss survivors, attempt survivors, mental health professionals, & others who care.

Psychotherapy

I help people with a wide range of needs, but I specialize in helping people who are at risk of suicide as well as working with families and loved ones.

Praise for Loving Someone with Suicidal Thoughts

"A deep look into how people who have thoughts of suicide can find hope, light, and purpose, as well as all of the reasons to be here tomorrow."

—Kevin Hines, author of Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt

From the Blog

We Are All Passengers on a Submersible

We Are All Passengers on a Submersible

Like millions of other people in the world, I was transfixed this past week by reports of five people stuck in a locked, cramped cylinder deep in the ocean near the Titanic wreckage. I compulsively checked the news for days -- until the authorities discovered on...

read more
The Sneaky Wisdom of Failure

The Sneaky Wisdom of Failure

About 15 years ago, I promised a publisher I’d write a book called Suicide Assessment and Intervention for Social Workers. We signed a contract. And I wrote. For many hours, day and night, I wrote. For more than 200 pages, I wrote. And then, inscrutably, words became...

read more
Not (Always) Speaking of Suicide

Not (Always) Speaking of Suicide

I started my first blog, Speaking of Suicide, in 2013. It really took off, and it’s received more than 6 million views and 9,000 comments from readers.  In this new blog, I won’t talk about suicide much. Not because suicide is bad or taboo or anything like that,...

read more
Stay Up To Date

If you want occasional updates about my work— new blog posts, writings, trainings, talks, and other news—sign up here. I promise not to deluge your inbox.