Suicide Bereavement: Supporting Those Bereaved by Suicide

In this course, Christopher Hall (Director/CEO of Grief Australia, Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne) defines grief, discussing bereavement phenomenology and contemporary paradigm shifts in our understanding of grief and bereavement. He explains the prominent themes for suicide survivors and the overlap between prolonged grief disorder, major depressive disorder, and PTSD. The recovery tasks of loss integration are outlined, as well as criteria and strategies for providing effective support to the suicide-bereaved. Hall stresses the importance of clinicians doing self-care when working in this space, as impending burnout may be unconscious. He notes the aspects which clinicians need to understand to avoid such burnout.