Media advisory: Depression expert available to discuss issues surrounding Robin Williams suicide

LAWRENCE — Stephen Ilardi, associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Kansas and author of “The Depression Cure” (Da Capo Press, 2009), is available for reporters to discuss issues of depression in the wake of the apparent suicide of Academy Award-winning actor Robin Williams.

Williams, 63, was found dead yesterday at his Marin County, California, home. In a statement, the local sheriff’s office said that it “suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.” Mara Buxbaum, the actor’s publicist, said that Williams “has been battling severe depression” in a statement.

“This week's tragic death of Robin Williams highlights the burgeoning toll of suicide, which now claims over 40,000 American lives each year — more than are lost to automobile accidents,” Ilardi said. “Most suicide deaths — including that of Robin Williams — are attributable to the insidious effects of clinical depression, which can rob its sufferers of their energy, their restorative sleep, their motivation, their mental acuity, their optimism, their ability to experience pleasure and even their will to live.”

Ilardi added, “Many of those who take their own lives — including Williams — are objectively well-loved and successful. But ‘having everything to live for’ is often not enough to counteract the intense suffering of depression and the desperate desire to find an escape at any cost. Fortunately, the disorder is treatable, and effective treatment is by far the most important step on the path to successful suicide prevention.”

Through his active clinical practice, Ilardi has treated several hundred depressed patients. His academic research centers on the domain of cognitive neuroscience that spans multiple levels of analysis: molecular, genetic, neurological, cognitive, affective, social and behavioral. Ilardi has authored more than 40 professional articles on mental illness.

To schedule an interview with Ilardi, contact Brendan Lynch at 785-864-8855 or blynch@ku.edu.