Suicide Bereavement and Grief Counseling

Bereavement usually activates a painful state of acute grief. Complicated grief occurs when acute grief is prolonged by inconsolable separation distress, ineffective emotion regulation, or excessive avoidance of reminders of the loss. Bereavement after someone has died by suicide is assumed to be especially difficult.

These researchers randomized 75 suicide-bereaved families (143 individuals) to an intervention to prevent complicated grief or to usual care. Families were identified from coroners’ records of suicides. The intervention, which consisted of four 2-hour sessions, occurred 3 to 6 months after the death and included psychoeducation, assistance with emotional processing, and support for family interaction and problem solving.

The rat…