Breaking the silence: School counsellors’ experiences of client suicide

ABSTRACT

School counselling is a unique discipline involving the provision of personal, social, and educational counselling to youth in schools. Since school counsellors work closely with at-risk children and adolescents they frequently encounter suicidal youth as clients. In this study, a qualitative grounded theory method was used to explore school counsellors’ experiences of client suicide. Four themes were identified from participants’ interviews: Taming the Control Beast; Wearing the Mask; Interpreting the Dance; Staying in the Game. The impact on participants’ personal and professional lives is discussed within the context on how they processed their experiences of loss.

Keywords:

• client suicide
• school counsellors