“I’m haunted by it:” experiences of licensed counselors who had a client die by suicide

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how licensed professional counselors (LPCs) experienced a client death by suicide. Data was collected through interviews with seven LPCs. The following four themes emerged: (1) elements that influenced grief; (2) impact on identities; (3) messages from self and others; and (4) healing strategies. The authors provide suggestions for clinicians, agencies, clinical supervisors, and training programs regarding pre-and-postvention support and advocacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Client death
• clinician bereavement
• suicide bereavement
• ambiguous loss and suicide

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).