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.