Year: 2013 Source: Journal of Loss & Trauma.(2012).17(6):489-507.DOI: 10.1080/15325024.2012.665298 SIEC No: 20130322

The death of a family member or close friend to suicide is a devastating life event. While research has suggested that suicide survivors may benefit from participation in support groups, little has been done to identify those elements of the experience of suicide survivorship that are impacted by grief support groups. This phenomenological inquiry of suicide survivors’ experience explored the impact of group participation on changes in self-reported grief distress and the participants’ process of finding meaning in the loss. Four themes were elucidated: attribution of suicide causation, personal impact and response, wanting to die/wanting to live, and ways of coping. These themes were examined in the context of group support, interaction with others, personal/spiritual awareness, and meaning-making.