Antoon A. Leenaars (born 1951) is a Canadian clinical and forensic psychologist practicing in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

. He is known for his research on

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

Career

Leenaars wrote a book about suicide in the military, which he has called a growing problem. He has also dismissed the claim, often made by Canadian politicians, that the country's military has a lower suicide rate than the general population, a claim he describes as "whitewashing". Subsequent research by the Canadian Forces themselves supported Leenaars' claim. In April 2016, "Key Findings from 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey" was published in a peer-reviewed journal, ''The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry''. Not only suicide, but suicidal attempts, and suicidal ideation were found to be high (above the general population), as were PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other costs of service. After Kelly Johnson, a police officer from

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, shot and killed a retiree and then killed herself, London's police department hired Leenaars to investigate the homicide-suicide, and he subsequently wrote a book about suicide and murder-suicide among police. The book, ''Suicide and Homicide-Suicide Among Police'', was published in 2010. Leenaars has continued his work in suicide prevention among police and other high risk groups (e.g., military personnel, Indigenous populations); he was among four experts invited to the critical issues in policing series "An Occupational Risk: What every police agency should do to prevent suicide among its officers", hosted by the NYPD-HQ and Police Executive Research Forum. His most recent book on death scene investigations), whether a death is natural, accident, suicide or homicide (NASH), is entitled ''The Psychological Autopsy'' (2017).

Honors, awards, and positions

Leenaars is the former president of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) and the

American Association of Suicidology The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which advocates for suicide prevention. It was established in 1968 by Edwin S. Shneidman, who has been called "a pioneer in suicide preven ...

(AAS) (of which he is the only non-American to be president). He was the founding

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the

peer-reviewed journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

'' Archives of Suicide Research''. He has received, among other awards, the International Association for Suicide Prevention's Stengel Award, CASP's Research Award, and AAS's Shneidman Award.

References

Leenaars, A. (2017). ''The psychological autopsy: A roadmap for uncovering the barren bones of the suicide's mind''. New York, NY & London, UK: Routledge. (https://routledge.com > Leenaars > book) Retrieved 7 March 2021. McFarlane, A. (20160. Accountability for psychological costs of military service.''The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry'', 61, Suppl 1, 7S-9S.(https://www.ncbi.nih.go.pmc.articles > PMC4800471) Retrieved 7 March 2021. Police Executive Research Forum (Oct, 2019). "An occupational risk: What every police agency should do to prevent suicide among its officers". Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum. (https://www.policeform.org > assets > PreventOfficerSuicide) Retrieved 7 March 2021. 1951 births Living people Canadian academic journal editors Canadian clinical psychologists People from Windsor, Ontario Place of birth missing (living people) Suicidologists 21st-century Canadian psychologists {{Canada-psychologist-stub