Coping With the Murder of a Loved One: Counseling Survivors of Murder Victims in Groups

Abstract

The survival of the murder of a loved one is a psychologically taxing process. Survivors of murder victims experience stressors that originate from the exigencies of the interpersonal, situational, and the criminal justice system domains. Group facilitators must be aware of the experiences and the mental health dynamics common to survivors, the stressors unique to the experience of surviving the murder of a loved one, and the psychiatric diagnoses associated with the grief reactions often experienced by survivors. Recommendations for treatment components that we have found to be effective in counseling survivors of murder victims in groups are presented.

Keywords:

• group counseling for survivors of murder victims
• counseling survivors
• survivors of murder victims