An event titled ‘Psychological Autopsy’ was organized by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vocational School of Health Services Autopsy Assistantship Program. Expert Psychologist, Psychotherapist Ayşe Ümet was a guest at the online event. Many topics regarding psychological autopsy and how it is conducted were discussed at the event.
The online event, moderated by Dr. Lecturer Buse Sabiha Bozaslan, Head of the Autopsy Assistantship Program at the Vocational School of Health Services, saw intense interest from participants.
“Psychological autopsy is conducted comprehensively…”
Expert Psychologist Ayşe Ümet pointed out that psychological autopsy is divided into two types; “Firstly, in suicides, it is performed when the manner of death is definitively accepted as suicide. The other is equivalent death. It is performed in cases where the manner of death is sudden and uncertain. The main principle of psychological autopsy is that as the amount of relevant data analyzed increases, the results provided by the research are likely to be more accurate. Psychological autopsy is conducted comprehensively and takes an average of 20 to 50 hours to complete. Sometimes it can take even longer.” she stated.
“Medication use is very important”
Ayşe Ümet emphasized the importance of determining whether there was a specific intent for suicide; “The use of phrases such as ‘You don't need to worry about me, throw a party for me.’ It is checked whether there was any change in their statements before suicide, and their language is analyzed to detect any morbid conditions; records and writings are collected and examined. Medication use is also considered. It is important to identify all medications used by the victim. Because even painkillers have side effects. They can also leave different side effects on everyone, so medication use is very important.” she explained.
“The key to psychological autopsy is the individual's mental history”
Ayşe Ümet noted the importance of examining the deceased person's psychological and mental state before death; “The key to psychological autopsy is the individual's mental history. The individual's mental history involves investigating previous suicide attempts. ‘Did they do it? How many times did they do it? In what way did they do it?’ This is a very important matter. Determining the reason requiring therapy is also important. Why did they go to therapy? Why did they need it? Depression, manic depression, bipolar disorder… Because bipolar disorder involves many emotional shifts, making one feel euphoric one moment and at rock bottom the next, there is suspicion if it wasn't done during a manic episode.” she said.
“A survey was conducted to test experts' knowledge levels about psychological autopsy”
Referring to the survey conducted to measure experts' knowledge of psychological autopsy and the study's outcome, Ayşe Ümet stated: “Apart from a few studies conducted to investigate suicides in our country, it has never received sufficient attention until now. A survey was conducted to measure the knowledge levels of experts working in the forensic field regarding psychological autopsy. This study involved 211 participants working as psychologists, psychiatrists, forensic medical specialists, judges, prosecutors, police officers, and lawyers in Ankara, İzmir, and Aydın. At the end of this study, it was observed that 63 percent of the majority had not heard of this concept, and 52 percent did not know what it meant.”