Kaleidoscope of Aid for Parents Whose Child Died by Suicidal and Sudden, Non-Suicidal Means

Abstract

The sudden loss of a child, especially by suicide, can be a lifelong sentence of suffering for the bereaved parents. Reaching out for help is often an inconceivable and impossible task for the parent survivors due to the complex grief process that is experienced. What roles helpers can play, who can fill this position of helper, and what criteria such providers of assistance must meet to be effective are addressed. Special considerations in doing grief counseling with survivors of suicide are summarized.

Patterns of mental distress following the violent death of a child and predictors of change over time

“…Parents have reported relentless intrusive images of the death scene, grief, guilt, anxiety, anger, depression, marital and parental role strain, physical illnesses, and job stress, suggesting that all personal, interpersonal, and social domains of functioning are affected by the deaths. Parents also have reported secondary victimization resulting from encounters with the media, criminal justice system, and naive employers and acquaintances (Dijkstra;Lehman, Wortman, & Williams, 1987;Murphy, Braun, et al, 1999;Rando, 1996;Seguin, Lesage, & Kiely, 1995;Thompson, Norris, & Ruback, 1998;Trolley, 1993;Van Dongen, 1990).…”

Beyond normal grief: A critical reflection on immediate post-death experiences of survivors of suicide

“…Knieper (1999) has also supported the idea that survivors of suicide tend to experience a very complicated form of bereavement; and attributed this to the combination of the unanswered question 'why', the sudden shock of the death, the trauma of possibly discovering or witnessing the suicide, and the additional negative impact that inappropriate responses and interactions from service providers and the community may have on the bereavement process. Trolley (1993) has drawn attention to the fact that any negative support or involvement from emergency-responders, police, medical examiners, funeral directors and clergy tends to create more isolation between the survivors and the professional world. Invariably these authorities are strangers, intricately involved in what is a very personal and private traumatic event.…”

Support groups: A psychological or social device for suicide bereavement?

“…Some psychological studies (Lester et al, 1991-92) have found that people still strongly disapprove of both suicide and the family involved. The most typical feelings after a family member's suicide-guilt, anger, depression and shame (Douglas, 1967;Saarinen et al, 1997;Trolley, 1993)-are considered to be particularly intensive and disruptive if the bereaved blame themselves or someone else for having contributed to the deceased's troubles, or if others blame them (Pritchard, 1995). Depression and guilt are said to easily become chronic complications of the grief process, because the Downloaded by [University of Sydney] at 13:16 02 January 2015 Support groups 403 bereaved can perceive themselves as 'disloyal' with respect to the deceased when they start to feel better (Saarinen et al, 1997).…”