Hsin-Yun Chou
Suicide Prevention Center MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
STUDY OBJECTIVES
This study explores the bereavement process of 2 survivors of suicide loss, with the focus on how they make meaning of the death as well as how they maintain a bond with the deceased.
METHODS & MATERIAL
The researcher have 12 years of experience in suicide prevention field, have been practicing Constructive psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing techniques, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills with survivors of suicide.
Two patients, both experienced emotional distress and were both recommended by their family and friends to seek professional help 3 months after their loss.
Case A (40 year old), lost his wife due to suicide by jumping from height, prior to treatment the Brief Symptom Rating Scale scores, or BSRS-5, was 8 (mild).
Case B (26 year old), lost her fiancée due to suicide by drinking Paraquat (a highly toxic pesticide), prior to treatment the score of BSRS-5, was 10 (moderate).
The researcher adopted the following skills and concepts in the treatment for these patients: mindfulness skills to help improve the awareness of grief, Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy skills to deal with traumatic symptoms (e.g. flashback and hypervigilance), the concepts from Worden’s grief therapy to maintain continuing bonds, and the concepts of constructivist psychotherapy to reconstruct the meaning of death. The treatment setting was in a general hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.
RESULTS
After 34 individual and 8 story-telling group sessions for Case A (over a period of 3 years), and 16 individual sessions for Case B (within one year), their self-reported distress emotions (e.g. anger, guilt, and fear) have been reduced, and they have shown to have developed more skills in adapting grief in life. Both cases learned to build continuing bonds with the deceased, for example, Case A has had more self education in mental and physical health in hope to help people who suffer as his wife; Case B had a tattoo on her left arm representing accompaniment with her fiancée as always. Meaning of death have also changed to be more adaptive for the future, Case A has a faith in learning to take good care of self and others; Case B had learned to build a new intimate relationship boundary as firmer and more flexible.
CONCLUSION
It takes time, patience, and skills for survivors of suicide to transform their grief. At the beginning of the trauma, many of them felt trapped and guilt due to lack of perspectives. Our study results have shown that with the help of professional psychotherapy, patients can learn to embrace new opportunities and hope, and as a society we can help prevent more tragedies from happening. As counselors, we experience wonderful personal growth seeing their transformation unfold before our eyes. We hope to recruit more like-minded therapists to join us in helping suicide survivors who are in dire need of help.
周昕韻 諮商心理師 