Death by Suicide - Work with Family in Mourning

Abstract

Suicide – calling for help, cry of despair, incomprehension, shock and a question ‘Why? Why did not he want to live, why did not he ask for help, why did not we notice anything?’ Death by suicide is always an immense shock for the family, acquaintances and the closest environment. It is the act of incomprehension of the causes and reasons for taking their own lives. When we hear of suicides we tend to focus on people who committed suicide and forget about those who were left with the unanswered question ‘Why?’ In most cases we ponder on the suffering of the person who committed suicide, on their motivation and an inexplicable choice of death and we forget about the relatives who have to face the suicide of a close person, struggle with loss, sorrow and despair. Family in mourning very often cannot handle the loss of a close relative and need some outside help because they either cannot rely on help from the family or friends or it is insufficient. We often do not know how to behave in the face of death, how to help people in mourning to accept the loss and come back to social and family life which goes on regardless of anything. Social work should become an answer to the needs of families in mourning and especially the ones that faced suicidal death. The article is an attempt to present methods and actions that a social worker can and should undertake while working with a grieving family. It points out the need for complete and professional preparation of a social worker. Social work with a client who has experienced the suicide of a close person necessitates a complete and professional action based on knowledge, intuition and also experience.