A longitudinal study of the impact of a suicide bereavement service on people bereaved by suicide

Whilst the body of research on the impacts of suicide bereavement interventions continues to grow, there is little understanding of the impact over time. This study measured changes in suicidality, levels of loneliness and grief reactions over time between those receiving support from a community-based suicide bereavement service (StandBy) compared with those that did not […]

Evaluation of a new online program for children bereaved by suicide: The views of children, parents, and facilitators

Objective: Experiencing the suicide of a parent or a sibling is one of the most disruptive and stressful events in the life of a child or adolescent. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of support offered to children and adolescents bereaved by suicide. This study aimed to evaluate participant and facilitator’s perceived helpfulness of the […]

Role of the psychiatric nurse in improving the psychosocial health of families after suicide

Suicide is defined as death that occurs as a result of deliberate self-harming behavior with the intention of ending one’s life. Each suicide has many physical, economic and psychological short and long-term effects on the individual, family, friends and society. The death of an individual as a result of suicide creates a traumatic effect for […]

The relationship between working alliance and treatment outcome in an internet-based grief therapy for people bereaved by suicide

Background Working alliance is an important component in the therapy process, however its’ role in bereavement interventions has rarely been studied. This study investigates the relationship between working alliance and treatment outcome, the change of working alliance throughout therapy and patient characteristics as predictors of working alliance. Methods Data from a randomized controlled trial including […]

Youth suicide bereavement and the continuum of risk

Background: There is limited research investigating the risks for young friends exposed to the suicide of peers. Aims: This study aimed to better understand the impact of suicide bereavement on rural young people. Method: Participants in this a mixed-method study were 18 young people who had been exposed to a friend’s suicide and who resided in rural Australia. Quantitative data […]

Korean teachers’ bereavement experience following student suicide: A phenomenological study

Background: Suicide is the leading cause of death in Korean adolescents and it exposes school teachers to the impact of student suicide. Aims: This study aimed to explore the bereavement experience of teachers following student suicide. Method: Using semistructured questions, five female teachers working at secondary schools in Korea were interviewed on their bereavement experiences. Data were analyzed using a […]

Bereavement after suicide: Disentangling clues to better help bereaved adolescents

Children and adolescents are bereaved by the suicide of a relative in one third of the suicides in the US (Pfeffer, Jiang, Kakuma, Hwang, & Metsch, 2002). In a survey of a representative sample of US adolescents, Cerel and    Roberts (2005) found that 1.2% had been exposed to the suicide of a close relative, […]

Preventing suicide: How to start a survivors’ group

Self-help support groups are groups made up of people who are directly and personally affected by a particular issue, condition or concern. They are run by their members, which means that those directly affected by the  issue are the ones who control the activities and the priorities of their group. While many self help groups […]

Special considerations for telling your own story: Best practices for presentations by suicide loss and suicide attempt survivors

This document outlines best practices for suicide loss and suicide attempt survivors who are considering sharing their story with the public. The best practices were created by a group of experts in the suicide prevention community and include information on: assessing readiness to speak; considering family reactions and potential social ramifications; resources for safe messaging; […]

SOS support group facilitator handbook: Creating a safe place for those dealing with suicide loss

This booklet is for facilitators of suicide loss support groups. Hopefully it will be of value to both new and experienced facilitators, but it cannot address every situation that you may encounter. It is best used in a training where discussion can clarify and expand upon the material given herein. It draws on the experience […]

An exploratory factor analysis of the survivor of suicide support group facilitator scale: Identifying meaningful factors for group facilitation and outcomes

Support groups for suicide loss survivors are a relatively common resource used by those who are left to cope in the aftermath of a suicide death. Though descriptive studies have been used to provide an overview of support groups in the past, there have been no efforts to understand nuances of these groups and the […]

Survivors of suicide: A support group leader’s handbook

Survivors of Suicide (SOS) is a support group for bereaved family members and close friends of suicide victims. The group provides a safe place for survivors to support one another as they deal with the painful questions and feelings that follow suicide.  Bereavement after suicide is a profoundly difficult and complex experience. The stigma of […]

Suicide survivor support groups: Comings and goings, part 1

This two-part report examines important aspects of survivor of suicide support groups: some of the motivating factors attracting survivors to join these groups and why many withdraw as time after a loss passes. From a variety of data sources, including survey data collected from 462 parents losing a child to suicide, participant observation data (collected […]

Preventing suicide: How to start a survivors’ group

Self-help support groups are groups made up of people who are directly and personally affected by a particular issue, condition or concern. They are run by their members, which means that those directly affected by the issue are the ones who control  the activities and the priorities of their group. While many self help groups […]

The relationship between working alliance and treatment outcome in an internet-based grief therapy for people bereaved by suicide

Background Working alliance is an important component in the therapy process, however its’ role in bereavement interventions has rarely been studied. This study investigates the relationship between working alliance and treatment outcome, the change of working alliance throughout therapy and patient characteristics as predictors of working alliance. Methods Data from a randomized controlled trial including […]

Suicide exposure and the impact of client suicide: A structural equation modeling approach

Objective: Client suicide, used to refer to situations where a mental health practitioner (MHP) is exposed, affected, or bereaved by a client’s suicide, is known to have a profound impact on MHPs. The current study investigated (1) the short- and long-term impact of client suicide and (2) to what extent gender, years of experience, therapeutic background, […]

Religion and spirituality in online suicide bereavement: An analysis of online memorials

Background: Religion and spirituality can be valuable resources in coping with bereavement. There is a paucity of studies focusing specifically on their role in suicide bereavement, although there are indications that religion/spirituality can be helpful for suicide survivors. Aims: The study explores the role of religion and/or spirituality in suicide bereavement by analyzing this theme in online memorials […]

Suicide bereavement and postvention in major suicidology journals: Lessons learned for the future of postvention

Background: Since the seminal publications of Shneidman (1969) and Cain (1972), suicide bereavement and postvention have attracted increasing research interest. Aims: To examine the topics of suicide bereavement and postvention in the core international suicidology journals, since their inception until mid-2013, in order to reveal the number of postvention articles throughout the years, their geographic distribution, and the […]

A CBT-based psychoeducational intervention for suicide survivors: A cluster randomized controlled study

Background: Bereavement following suicide is associated with an increased vulnerability for depression, complicated grief, suicidal ideation, and suicide. There is, however, a paucity of studies of the effects of interventions in suicide survivors. Aims: This study therefore examined the effects of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based psychoeducational intervention on depression, complicated grief, and suicide risk factors in […]

What do the bereaved by suicide communicate in online support groups? A content analysis

Background: Every year, more than six million people lose a loved one through suicide. These bereaved by suicide are at relatively high risk for mental illnesses including suicide. The social stigma attached to suicide often makes it difficult to talk about grief. Participating in online forums may be beneficial for the bereaved by suicide, but it […]

Cost effectiveness of a community-based crisis intervention program for people bereaved by suicide

Background: Postvention services aim to ameliorate distress and reduce future incidences of suicide. The StandBy Response Service is one such service operating in Australia for those bereaved through suicide. Few previous studies have reported estimates or evaluations of the economic impact and outcomes associated with the implementation of bereavement/grief interventions. Aims: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a […]

Challenges and opportunities for suicide bereavement research: The experience of ethical board review

Background: While high-quality and ethically sound research is needed to better understand and respond to the needs of those bereaved by suicide, there is a concern that ethical boards internationally raise unreasonable objections to research with those bereaved by suicide. Aims: This pilot study was conducted to examine the issues faced by suicide bereavement and postvention researchers […]

Adolescent survivors after suicide: Australian young people’s bereavement narratives

Background: While the research literature exploring suicide bereavement has expanded in recent years, this has been primarily quantitative and has focused more on the bereavement experience of parents and siblings. The bereavement experience of young people affected through the suicide death of a friend remains under-conceptualized and not well understood. Aims: To develop an understanding of the […]