After the Suicide: Helping the Bereaved to Find a Path from Grief to Recovery

Those left behind in the wake of suicide are often plagued by unanswered questions and feelings of guilt. Helping them to understand why the suicide happened, how suicide survivors commonly react and cope, and where they can find support can help them move forwards on their path from grief to recovery. Drawing on the testimonies of suicide survivors and research into suicide bereavement, this book provides those working with the bereaved with the knowledge and guidance they need. It covers common grief and crisis reactions, including those specific to children and young people, how suicide bereavement differs from other forms of bereavement, and how others have coped and been supported. It also addresses how the bereaved can move on, including advice on support networks including friends, family, professionals and other bereaved people. This book will be invaluable to all those supporting those who have been bereaved by suicide, including counsellors, bereavement support workers, social workers, and psychologists.

Einar Plyhn is Publisher at Abstrakt Forlag, Norway. He has personal experience of suicide bereavement.

Gudrun Dieserud is Department Director, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway, and is a qualified suicidologist and clinical psychologist.

Dr Kari Dyregrov is Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, and Research Director at the Center for Crisis Psychology, Bergen, Norway. She is a suicidologist and grief researcher, and she established the Norwegian Organisation for Suicide Survivors (LEVE) in 1999.