Grief following suicide shares much in common with that following other losses, however literature identifies other factors that make the experience qualitatively different.

These include:
  • The nature of the death;
  • Involvement of police and coroner;
  • Personal responses such as guilt, remorse, failure, why’s;
  • Shame and stigma leading to feelings of isolation;
  • The assignment of blame.                                                                                              CRITERIA FOR TRAUMATIC GRIEF AS PROPOSED BY TRAUMA SPECIALISTS (JACOBS, 1999)
                                                               
 "The death of a significant other by suicide is a stressor of unparalleled magnitude in most people’s lives, and even the most psychological mature individual may encounter difficulty in responding to it".   Dunn (1989) Suicide and its aftermath: Understanding & Counselling the Bereaved
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"Bereavements which are sudden and unexpected, involve children or are violent and shocking lead to greater stress for the survivors and greater  difficulty in resolving and coming to terms with the loss”.   Raphael and Meldrum 1995
StandBy is a National community based suicide postvention service providing 24/7 locally coordinated responses to individuals and communities affected by suicide including emergency and community responders.

Originally started on the Sunshine Coast in 2002 following a series of community consultations coordinated by the Sunshine Coast Suicide Prevention Network,  StandBy was auspiced by United Synergies at Tewantin and has grown to be a National Organisation.

On the request of a family member or organisation, Standby will respond by sending two trained and skilled Bereavement Response Support Workers to the individual's home.

In the case of an organisation such as a club needing support, multiple workers will be despatched depending on the size of the group. A specially designed information pack is left with individuals needing the support.
StandBy - Central Qld, Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast
​is delivered in partnership with United Synergies.  There is a pool of casual Standby Crisis Team members residing throughout the region.

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24/7 Phone 0418 656 764
​Email:  standby@unitedsynergies.com.au
Resources

​The StandBy website provides a wealth of informative resources relating to suicide bereavement.  Find out more by clicking on the Standby Resources link.
Suicide
Call Back
Service
Call 1300 659 467
While you should always call 000 if it's an emergency Suicide Call Back Service can help anyone who is affected by suicide, which includes;
  • anyone who is feeling suicidal
  • anyone who is worried about someone
  • anyone who is caring for someone who is feeling suicidal
  • anyone who has lost someone to suicide
  • health professionals supporting people who are affected by suicide
Suicide Call Back Service is a nationwide service that provides professional 24/7 telephone and online counselling to people who are affected by suicide.
You can get immediate help by selecting one of the services clearly set out on the website.
Resources - information is available on the Suicide Call Back Service website on the following topics . . .​
Lost Someone to Suicide
Common experiences with suicide bereavement
Looking after yourself after a bereavement
Who can I talk to?
Supporting children bereaved by suicide
Supporting adolescents bereaved by suicide
Legal considerations following a suicide
CALOUNDRA LIVING BEYOND SUICIDE SUPPORT GROUP

Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month at 10.00 am
For further information please phone (07) 5409 4995

Peer Support
Literature suggests that contact with others who have experienced a suicide loss can be extremely helpful for many people.
(Dyregrov & Dyregrov, 2008; Feigelman et al., 2012; McMenamy et al., 2008)
vision
To save lives and reduce emotional pain.

dream
For all people with a lived experience of suicide to feel confident accessing a range of services and supports  which will empower them towards recovery in a timely, respectful and compassionate manner.

mission
To empower people with lived experience of suicide to inform, influence and enhance suicide prevention.

strategy
Roses in the Ocean exists to save lives and reduce emotional pain.  We do this by informing, influencing and enhancing suicide prevention through the lived experience and supporting organisations to effectively and meaningfully engage lived experience expertise.

Focus is on
  • Providing critical lived experience resources and expertise.
  • Building a trained and supported Lived Experience “Workforce”.
  • Facilitating their meaningful involvement in suicide prevention activities.
  • Leading the evolution of engaging lived experience.

Roses in the Ocean offers a range of capacity building workshops and training opportunities for people with a lived experience of suicide.  All workshops and programs are designed to empower people to engage meaningfully in suicide prevention activity in their local communities and Lived Experience Reference Groups in ways that are relevant to their expertise and desired level of involvement.

Community awareness events and lived experience informed suicide awareness and intervention workshops are aimed at increasing suicide literacy in our communities and connecting people with local service providers.
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A lived experience of suicide is having experienced suicidal thoughts, survived a suicide attempt, cared for someone through suicidal crisis, or been bereaved by suicide.
Acknowledgement:  Our heartfelt thanks to Jean-Claude Boulenaz, Suicidologist, for his support in assisting us to compile our web pages on Suicide Prevention and Suicide Bereavement Support.