Adolescent Suicide: the Loss of Reconciliation (IN: Living Beyond Loss. Death in the Family, ed. by F Walsh & M McGoldrick)

Reconciliation is defined as a compromise carried out by family members in times of crisis to alter their personal myths about the types of relationships they require & the way they & others must act to meet their needs. The suicidal adolescent has a severely limited range of personal myths with which to manage. When these myths are rendered untenable, the vulnerable adolescent has no means of adapting or replacing them. Unable to achieve reconciliation, he or she sees suicide as an option.