The Process of Long-Term Suicide Bereavement: Responsibility, Familial Support, and Meaning Making

Authors

Quintin A. Hunt, University of Wisconsin-SuperiorFollow
Tod A. Young, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Katherine M. Hertlein, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-25-2019

Publication Title

Contemporary Family Therapy

First page number:

1

Last page number:

12

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop understanding of the experience of long-term suicide loss survivors and begin to develop theory of the process of healing. Ten suicide loss survivors were interviewed. Our analyses identified three major categories—one harmful, one helpful, and one that helped to move from harmful to the helpful. Feelings of responsibility was the major harmful category, meaning making the helpful one, and social support the one that appeared to help move from one to the other. Suicide-related thoughts and behaviors were found to be both harmful and helpful at times. Many systemic, family, and interpersonal processes relating to suicide ideation and the perceived responsibility of suicide loss survivors were identified for intervention and future study.

Keywords

Suicide; Grief; Loss; Bereavement; Survivor; Postvention; Ideation; Interpersonal

Disciplines

Counseling Psychology | Family, Life Course, and Society | Psychiatric and Mental Health

Language

English

Repository Citation

Hunt, Q. A., Young, T. A., Hertlein, K. M. (2019). The Process of Long-Term Suicide Bereavement: Responsibility, Familial Support, and Meaning Making. Contemporary Family Therapy 1-12.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10591-019-09499-5