An Evaluation of a Suicide Bereavement Peer Support Program

Abstract

Peer support, a cornerstone in recovery programs for mental illness and addiction, has not been widely applied to service programs for survivors of suicide. In 2004–2006 Canadian Mental Health Association Suicide Services in Calgary, Alberta, introduced the Peer Support Program for adults, an adjunct to conventional individual and group intervention. This article reports on a mixed-methods evaluation of the Peer Support Program. Hogan's Grief Response Checklist and the qualitative data tracked positive outcomes for both the peer supporters and the clients. This study challenges the unspoken assumption that survivors of suicide, due to their vulnerability, require the services of highly skilled professionals and would not be in a position to offer unsupervised support to peers. Rather it supports an intervention protocol that consists of peer supporters and professionals working collaboratively to offer cost-effective, client-centered services.

Urmil Chugh now works as an independent research consultant, and Dixie Rawlinson is no longer affiliated with the University of Calgary.

We gratefully acknowledge Linda White and Jennifer Hewson for their input, support and enthusiasm for this project. We thank Canadian Mental Health Association for their financial support.

Notes

Note. 1 = not helpful; 5 = extremely helpful.

Note. One case was excluded from the personal growth's computation due to eight missing values.

Note. ANOVA = analysis of variance. One case was excluded from the personal growth's computation due to eight missing values.

^a Statistically significant.

^b df = 8.