Supporting the Family of a Suicidal Person: Those who Live in Fear (IN: Clergy Response to Suicidal Persons and Their Family Members, edited by D C Clark)

This chapter describes the case of a woman who committed suicide before her 22nd birthday & discusses how her family responded to her 7-year experience with depression & suicidal behavior. Observations on the case note that the family did not seem to deal with emotions & communication very well. For the clergy, it is noted that pastoral care in the local church can be messy & personally, politically & economically dangerous, but that it’s more dangerous not to provide good pastoral care.