Biography

Dr Keith Harris completed his PhD at the University of Queensland, with a dissertation on Suicide Surfers: how suicidal individuals use the internet for suicide-related purposes. Keith is from the USA, and has lived in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, and traveled extensively. He has been active in the field of Suicidology since 2005, is a member of the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP), the International Academy of Suicide Research (IASR), the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), and the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS). He has worked with coroner departments, hospitals, suicide prevention organisations, students and academics to promote suicide prevention and research. He is founder and director of the Suicide Study Group, and is happy to work with anyone interested in this area.

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Research expertise

As a Suicidologist, I am interested in any factor, risk or protective, related to suicidality. The suicidal mind is one of my greatest areas of interest, and a frequent research topic of mine. Other specific areas include: how suicidal people use the internet (Suicide Surfers), help-seeking, social support, psychopathology, sexual orientation, and cultural factors related to suicide risk. My research methods include online surveys, laboratory experiments, as well as analysis of hospital and clinical data. These projects are aimed at both furthering scientific knowledge as well as applying that knowledge to help solve real-world problems.