As we prepare to welcome a new year, IASP is delighted to announce Professor Thomas Niederkrotenthaler as the incoming Editor-in-Chief for the journal Crisis. Crisis – The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, published under the auspices of IASP, is an international periodical that publishes original articles on suicidology and crisis intervention.
Professor Niederkrotenthaler is well-positioned to build on the journal’s legacy and lead it toward continued excellence and innovation over the next four years. He is a Full Professor of Public Health and group lead for public mental health research at the Medical University Vienna, Austria. He is also the founding Chairman of the Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, one of the leading suicide research groups in middle Europe. His research/prevention interests focus on 4 main areas:
- Protective and harmful roles of media in suicide prevention (Werther and papageno effects)
- Familial risk factors for suicidal behaviour
- Labour market marginalization and suicidal behaviour, and
- The evaluation of interventions for suicide prevention.
Professor Niederkrotenthaler has also had leading roles in the development and evaluation of media campaigns for suicide prevention internationally. He guided the revision of the most recent WHO / IASP media guidelines for suicide reporting and contributed to their adaption to entertainment media. He has worked in several roles within IASP before being elected as Vice-President (2020-2024).
“I am delighted about my new role as Editor-in-Chief of Crisis. Together with an amazing group of action editors, including Ella Arensman, Greg Armstrong, Katherine (Kerry) Keyes, Alexandra Pitman, Benedikt Till, and myself, the entire editorial board, our dedicated reviewers, and the IASP membership, we will join forces to evaluate and publish even more high-quality research on suicide prevention, and to help the Journal grow and prosper in this process.”
This transition also marks the conclusion of an extraordinary tenure for our current Editor-in-Chief, Professor Jane Pirkis. Over the past seven years, Professor Pirkis and her leadership has elevated the journal’s reputation and deepened its impact within the academic and professional community of suicide prevention. Besides Crisis, she has also served as IASP General Secretary, Vice President and acting President. Prior to that, she was Australia’s National Representative on its Council of National Representatives and has sat on the scientific advisory committees of a number of IASP Congresses.
“I have enjoyed every minute of my time as Editor-in-Chief of Crisis. I couldn’t have done it without my two fabulous Associate Editors, Ella Arensman and Maria Oquendo. They were always willing to handle manuscripts and help with strategic and operational decisions about the journal. I would also have been lost without my amazing Editorial Assistant, Wendy Iverson. Wendy has such a great relationship with so many of our authors, and knows our submission software, Editorial Manager, inside out. We always laugh about the fact that when she went on long service leave early in my tenure, I couldn’t even remember my password! It has also been fantastic working with our publisher, Hogrefe – particularly Robert Dimbleby and Juliane Munson. They’re so organised and supportive, and they’re full of good ideas. I’m proud of the things that we’ve done together along the way, including embracing some of the principles of open science and giving some early career superstars opportunities to write editorials. I’ll miss being Editor-in-Chief, but I know I am leaving the journal in very safe hands with my brilliant colleague, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler”, said Professor Pirkis.
As Professor Pirkis steps down, we express our heartfelt gratitude for her dedication and guidance to the journal and look forward to the journey ahead under Professor Niederkrotenthaler’s leadership.
