This study examines psychiatrist contact with families of patients who have committed suicide. Families were asked if they had been contacted & whether they wished to be contacted. The author found that psychiatrists rarely contacted families of suicide victims. In only 1 of 12 cases did the psychiatrist initiate contact, & in the other 11 cases the families wished they had been contacted. Reasons why psychiatrists do not contact families after a suicide are also discussed by the author.