The issue of suicide continues to raise feelings of fear, doubt and confusion (among other feelings) in our society. Research indicates that people bereaved through suicide are at greater risk of suicide themselves. The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement will conduct a one-day workshop at Mulgrave on September 7th, 2018.
Workshop Overview
The issue of suicide continues to raise feelings of fear, doubt and confusion (among other feelings) in our society. Research indicates that people bereaved through suicide are at greater risk of suicide themselves. In contrast to this, many people bereaved through suicide become the greatest advocates for suicide prevention strategies in our community.
This workshop will lead participants through a brief history of how our society has responded to suicide and consider the ways in which this influences how we respond to the needs of those bereaved through suicide today. The notion of effective grief and bereavement support as a suicide prevention strategy will be explored, with strategies offered to re-enforce this idea. The workshop will engage participants in understanding the particular issues and questions that arise for those bereaved through suicide and the ways in which they can be addressed.
This workshop is designed for professionals working with those who have experienced bereavement through suicide, such as teachers, counsellors, nurses, therapists, psychologists and other allied health professionals.
Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Describe the ways in which our society has historically responded to suicide and the influence of these responses on the suicide bereaved
- Identify and describe the range of issues, questions and experiences that face the suicide bereaved
- Identify effective support strategies for, and resources that can be used by, those bereaved through suicide
- Utilise an understanding of suicide and suicide bereavement to inform effective grief and bereavement support and possible suicide prevention strategies for the suicide bereaved
Presenter Bio: Diana Sands
Diana Sands, PhD, Director, Bereaved by Suicide Centre for Intense Grief, is a postvention and prevention clinician, researcher and educator. Diana provides counseling following sudden, violent and traumatic death, and in particular individual, couple and family counseling and group programs, for those who have lost a loved one through suicide. Her counseling and group programs draw on a range of theoretical perspectives including narrative and family systems theory and incorporate expressive artwork. She is a Clinical Member of the Psychotherapy and Counseling Federation of Australia, and the past Deputy Chair of Postvention Australia, and the Honorary Advisor to the Wings of Hope Charity. Diana has served on the NSW Executive Committee, National Association Loss and Grief, and as the NSW representative with Suicide Prevention Australia. Diana is a Member of the International Work Group Death, Dying and Bereavement, and a recipient of the Vice Chancellor Post Graduate Research Grant, Australian Government Research Scholarship. Diana has presented seminars and workshops in Australia and Internationally drawing on her clinical experience and research. She has published a number of peer reviewed academic articles and book chapters and is the author of a book and DVD resource, “Red Chocolate Elephants: For Children Bereaved by Suicide”.
For more information and to register for this workshop, please go here.
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