Light Up The Couch
The Silent Weight of Client Suicide: On Grief, Ethics, and Clinical Realities, Ep. 236
Mar 19, 2025
Khara Croswaite Brindle, a licensed professional counselor and expert in suicide assessment training, delves into the silent grief clinicians endure after a client's suicide. She introduces the concept of 'confidential grief,' emphasizing the stigma around these feelings. The conversation touches on the impulsivity of unpreventable suicides, ethical dilemmas in communication with bereaved families, and strategies for clinician self-care using the LEAN framework. Through personal reflections, they advocate for open dialogue and compassion in navigating these profound losses.
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Quick takeaways
- Understanding the concept of confidential grief helps clinicians recognize the necessity of supportive networks for processing loss.
- Acknowledging the unpredictability of suicidal behavior can alleviate the guilt and self-blame clinicians often feel after a client's suicide.
Deep dives
The Weight of Confidential Grief
Losing a client to suicide is a unique form of grief known as confidential grief, which is characterized by the inability to openly discuss one's feelings due to stigma and confidentiality. Clinicians often feel isolated in their grief, burdened by the expectation to maintain professionalism despite their personal pain. This silence can exacerbate the emotional toll, as many may feel compelled to suppress their feelings or fear judgment from peers. Acknowledging this phenomenon can help clinicians recognize the importance of supportive networks and open discussions about the reality of suicide in therapeutic relationships.
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