Support Groups in Wisconsin 

 

Suicide Bereavement Trained Clinicians Directory >>

 


 

Loss Survivor Resources 

If you have lost a loved one to suicide, you are not alone. There are resources available to help survivors of suicide loss cope.

 


 

Suicide Loss Survivors in the Profession: Clinicians, Professionals, and Workers in the Field

 

Articles

 

After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools

This resource was developed primarily for administrators and staff in middle and high schools, but it can also be useful for parents and communities. Although some of the guidance can be used by schools serving other age groups, the developmental differences between students in elementary, middle, and high school, and college must be taken into account when using the toolkit to respond to a death in a school.

After a Suicide focuses on how to respond in the immediate aftermath of a suicide death of a student. Ideally, schools should have a crisis response and postvention plan in place before a suicide occurs. That will enable staff to respond in an organized and effective manner. But whether or not a school has such a plan, this toolkit contains information schools can use to initiate a coordinated response. For information on developing protocols for responding to a suicide, see Chapter 3 in Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools.

 

  • The Connect Program is recognized as a comprehensive model for planning and implementing suicide prevention and postvention practices, as described in the Action Alliance Paper:  Key Elements for the Implementation of Comprehensive Community-Based Suicide Prevention

    Comprehensive training curriculum including:

    • Prevention and intervention
    • Postvention (promoting healing and reducing risk after a suicide).
    • SurvivorVoices: Sharing the Story of Suicide Loss program trains survivors of suicide loss how to safely share their story privately and publicly.
    • Train the Trainer and Strategic Planning options
 

 


 

Additional Grief Resources


Grieving is an experience we all go through. Lean on family, friends, and even strangers for support. Below we’ve listed several online resources for finding online support forums, in-person support groups, blogs, non-profit organizations, and education about grief.

 

  • Open to Hope is a non-profit that provides resources for those grieving any type of loss, from the death of a sibling to that of a child. The site publishes videos, books, blog, and podcasts. Individuals can easily search the information relevant to them by filtering by the date of their loss and the individual they lost.
  • Grief Healing is the blog behind the Grief Healing Discussion Groups. The posts are designed to be informative and helpful to survivors as well as professional and family caregivers who are anticipating or recovering from a loss.
  • Grief Haven provides support and educational resources to those grieving, as well as those providing care to them. The site assists healthcare professionals who work with death such as caregivers and hospice.
  • Kudoboard is a memorial tool that people can use to create a lasting, meaningful life story while keeping their loved one's memory alive.
  • What’s Your Grief is a blog managed by mental health professionals who have also experienced the loss of a loved one. The site provides e-learning courses and training for health care professionals as well as those grieving.
  • Join an online grief forum to ask for advice or just have someone to listen. Popular grief forums include the Grieving.com forums, Grief Healing Discussion Groups, Online Grief Support forum, Grief subreddit and the GriefSupport subreddit.
  • To avoid feeling isolated, join an in-person support group. Google “grief support group” and you will find additional local resources near you. National directories of support groups are also available on Grief.com, Psychology Today (click the drop down menu by “Find a Therapist”), and GriefShare.
  • The Compassionate Friends is a non-profit with chapters in all 50 states that helps families grieve after the death of a child.
  • The COPE Foundation helps families grieve as well, with a special focus on helping siblings as well as parents. Their hotline 516-364-2673 is available 9a-9pm on weekdays and 10a-3pm on weekends for peer support.
  • Grieving Dads is a blog run by a father who lost his son that provides support to men, who are often overlooked during grief.
  • Four Plus an Angel is a blog run by a mother who lost one of her children, and chronicles her family of four children coping and moving forward.
  • Still Standing Magazine supports parents who lost a child, particularly at a young age or through miscarriage. There are also resources for medical professionals.
  • TAPS provides peer support for families grieving a military member.
  • Forums include the Loss of a Child forums on Grieving.com and Loss of an Infant, Child or Grandchild forum on Grief Healing Discussion Groups.

 

Suggested Reading for Loss Survivors


  • After Suicide
    by John H. Hewett - published by Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA (1980)
  • After Suicide Loss: Coping with Your Grief.
    by Bob Baugher, Ph.D., and Jack Jordan, Ph.D., 2002.
  • Andrew, You Died Too Soon
    by Corinne Chilstrom - published by Augsburg Fortress (1993)
  • Black Suicide: The Tragic Reality of America’s Deadliest Secret.
    by Alton R. Kirk, Ph.D., Beckham Publications Group, Inc. 2009.
  • Don't Take My Grief Away From Me
    by Doug Manning - published by In-Sight Books (1979)
  • Do They Have Bad Days in Heaven?: Surviving the Suicide Loss of a Sibling
    by Michelle Linn-Gust
  • Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families After a Suicide
    by Beverly Cobain and Jean Larch
  • Forgive & Forget: Healing The Hurts We Don't Deserve
    by Lewis B. Smedes - published by Pocket Books (1984)
  • Healing After The Suicide of a Loved One
    by Ann Smolin & John Guinan - published by Simon & Schuster (1993)
  • How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies
    by Therese A. Rando - published by Lexington Books (1988)
  • How To Survive The Loss Of A Love
    by Colgrove, Bloomfield, McWilliams - published by Prelude Press (1991)
  • Living Through Personal Crisis
    by Ann Kaiser Sterns - published by Ballantine Books (1985)
  • Mourning After Suicide
    by Lois Bloom - published by The Pilgrim Press (1987)
  • Reaching Out After Suicide: What’s Helpful and What’s Not.
    by Linda H. Kilburn, M.S.W. Available from KP Associates, LLC, 2008.
  • Rocky Roads: The Journeys of Families Through Suicide Grief.
    By Michelle Linn-Gust, Ph.D, Chellehead Works, 2010.
  • Roses In December
    by Marilyn Willett Heavilin - published by Thomas Nelson (1993)
  • Seven Choices
    by Elizabeth Harper Neeld, Ph.D. - published by Delta )1990)
  • Silent Grief: Living in the Wake of Suicide.
    by Christopher Lukas and Henry Seiden, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007.
  • Stronger Than Death: When Suicide Touches Your Life
    by Sue Chance - published by Avon Books (1992)
  • Suicide of a Child
    by Adina Wrobleski, Centering Corp., 2002.
  • Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, Postvention
    by Earl Grollman - published by Beacon Press (1988)
  • Suicide: Survivors: A Guide For Those Left Behind
    by Adina Wrobleski - published by Afterwords (1994)
  • Suicide Survivors' Handbook—Expanded Edition.
    by Trudy Carlson, Benline Press, 2000.
  • The Bereaved Parent
    by Harriet Sarnoff Schiff - published by Penguin Books (1977)
  • The Courage To Grieve
    by Judy Tatelbaum - published by Harper & Row (1980)
  • The Grief Recovery Handbook
    by James & Friedman - published by HarperCollins (1998)
  • The Wilderness of Suicide Grief: Finding Your Way
    by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Companion Press, 2010.
  • Touched by Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss
    by Michael F. Myers, M.D., and Carla Fine, Gotham Books, 2006.
  • Transcending Loss
    by Ashely Davis Prend - published by Berkley Books 1997
  • Understanding, Coping, and Growing Through Grief
    by Collection of Authors - published by HOPE FOR BEREAVED, 1995
  • Understanding Your Grief
    by Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt - published by Accelerated Development Inc. 1992
  • Unfinished Conversation: Healing From Suicide and Loss - A Guided Journey
    by Robert E. Lesoine and Marilynne Chopel, Parallax Press, 2013.
  • Why Suicide? Questions and Answers about Suicide, Suicide Prevention, and Coping with the Suicide of Someone You Know (2nd ed.).
    by Eric Marcus, HarperOne - a division of HarperCollins, 2010.
  • A Force Unfamiliar To Me: A Cautionary Tale
    by Jane Butler, Hamlet Books, 1998.
  • An Empty Chair: Living in the Wake of a Sibling's Suicide
    by Sara Swan Miller
  • A Special Scar: The Experience of People Bereaved by Suicide
    by Alison Wertheimer, Routledge, 2001.
  • Before Their Time: Adult Children's Experiences of Parental Suicide
    by Mary Stimming
  • Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and Survival
    by Christopher Lukas, Doubleday, 2008.
  • Dead Reckoning: A Therapist Confronts His Own Grief.
    by David C. Treadway, BasicBooks, 1996
  • History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life
    by Jill Bialosky, Atria Books, 2011
  • Hope After Suicide: One Woman's Journey from Darkness to Light
    by Wendy Parmley, Cedarfort Publishing, 2014
  • In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother’s Suicide
    by Nancy Rappaport. Basic Books, 2009
  • In the Wake of Suicide: Stories of the People Left Behind
    by Victoria Alexander
  • My Son, My Son: A Guide To Healing After A Suicide In The Family
    by Iris Bolton - published by Bolton Press
  • Never Regret the Pain: Loving and Losing a Bipolar Spouse.
    by Sel Erder Yackley, Helm Publishing, 2008
  • No Time To Say Goodbye, Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One
    by Carla Fine - published by Doubleday (1997)
  • Our Forever Angel: Surviving the Loss of a Loved One to Suicide
    by Barb Scholz
  • Remembering Garrett: One Family's Battle with a Child's Depression.
    by United States Senator Gordon H. Smith, Caroll & Graf, 2006
  • Sanity and Grace: A Journey of Suicide, Survival and Strength
    by Judy Collins
  • Survivors of Suicide
    by Rita Robinson - published by Newcastle Publishing Co. 1989
  • The Empty Chair: The Journey of Grief After Suicide.
    by Beryl Glover, In Sight Books, 2000
  • The Gospel According to Josh: A 28-Year Gentile Bar Mitzvah.
    by Josh Rivedal
  • The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War.
    by Yochi Dreazen, Crown Publishing, 2014
  • The Suicide Index: Putting My Father’s Death in Order.
    by Joan Wickersham, Harcourt Inc., 2008
  • The Suicide Of My Son
    by Trudy Carlson - published by Benline Press (1995)
  • Trying to Remember, Forced to Forget (My Father's Suicide)
    by Judy Raphael Kletter
  • After a Parent's Suicide: Helping Children Heal.
    by Margo Requarth, Healing Hearts Press, 2006
  • After a Suicide: A Workbook for Grieving Kids.
    Available through The Dougy Center
  • But I Didn't Say Goodbye: For parents and professionals helping child suicide survivors
    by Barbara Rubel
  • Child Survivors of Suicide: A Guidebook for Those Who Care for Them.
    by Rebecca Parkin and Karen Dunne-Maxim, 1995
  • Guiding Your Child Through Grief
    by Mary Ann Emswiler
  • Helping Children Cope With Grief
    by Alan Wolfelt - published by Accelerated Development, Inc. (1983)
  • My Uncle Keith Died.
    by Carol Ann Loehr, Trafford Publishing, 2006
  • Someone I Love Died By Suicide: A Story for Child Survivors and Those Who Care for Them.
    by Doreen Cammarata, Grief Guidance, Inc., 2000
  • Supporting Children After a Suicide Loss: A Guide For Parents and Caregivers.
    by Sarah Montgomery, LCSW-C and Susan Coale, LCSW-C , Chesapeake Life Center, 2014
  • Understanding Suicide, Supporting Children
    Available through The Dougy Center
  • After.
    by Francis Chalifour, Tundra, 2005
  • After a Suicide: Young People Speak Up.
    by Susan Kuklin, Putnam Publishing Group, 1994
  • When a Friend Dies
    by Marilyn E Gootman, Ed.D, Free Spirit Publishing, 2005
  • Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death by Bonnie Zucker

  • The Invisible String by Patrice Karst

  • The Memory Box: A Book about Grief by Joanna Rowland

  • Men & Grief: A Guide for Men Surviving the Death of a Loved One and a Resource for Caregivers and Mental Health Professionals.
    by Carol Staudacher, New Harbinger Publications, Inc. 1991
  • Men Don’t Cry...Women Do: Transcending Gender Stereotypes of Grief. Terry L. Martin & Kenneth J. Doka, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group 2000
  • Real Men Do Cry: A Quarterback’s Inspiring Story of Tackling Depression and Surviving Suicide Loss.
    by Eric Hipple, with Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley. Quality of Life Publishing Co., 2008
  • Swallowed by a Snake: The Gift of the Masculine Side of Healing.
    by Thomas R. Golden, Golden Healing Publishing, 1996
  • When a Man Faces Grief/A Man You Know is Grieving: 12 Practical Ideas to Help You Heal From Loss.
    by Thomas Golden and James Miller, Willowgreen Publishing, 1998
  • When Suicide Comes Home: A Father’s Diary and Comments.
    by Paul Cox, Bolton Press 2002
  • Cracked, Not Broken
    by Kevin Hines, Rowmann & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. , 2013
  • From the Ashes Flies the Phoenix: Creating a Powerful Life After a Suicide.
    by Gretta Krane, Inspiring Enterprises, 2006
  • Healing the Hurt Spirit: Daily Affirmations for People Who Have Lost a Loved One to Suicide.
    by Catherine Greenleaf, St. Dymphna Press, 2006
  • Incomplete Knowledge.
    by Jeffrey Harrison, Four Way Books, 2006
  • Passing Reflections, Volume I: Meditations on Grief, and Volume II: The Journey Through Grief.
    by Kristen Spexarth, Big Think Media, 2010