Citation

Sands D. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 108.

Affiliation

Bereaved by Suicide Service, P.O. Box 687, Chatswood, 2067 Sydney, Australia. dianasands@karridale.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964055

Abstract

This paper addresses questions about how adults negotiate the grief process and construct relational meanings following a death due to suicide, and the role of learning and social group discussions in this context. Current theories of grief focus on the meanings an individual makes of a death event in relation to themselves, the deceased and significant family members and friends in their relational world. The intentional nature, violence and trauma of a suicide death disrupt grief processes and challenge fundamental norms of self-preservation and existing life stories. Attempts at meaning making are hi-jacked by these complicating issues and the disturbing knowledge of the self-volition at the core of a death due to suicide. This paper presents excerpts from analysis of a number of self-grief narratives in the social context of a support group. Analysis of data maps difficulties encountered and strategies used by adults bereaved by suicide to negotiate meanings relationally through revisiting and reconstructing their narrative sense of self identity, their relationship with the deceased and others. A critical aspect in understanding how to support the bereavement process following a suicide death is to find out how people negotiate these processes in order to implement effective interventions.

Language: en