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Posttraumatic Growth After Suicide Loss
Melinda Moore, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
Rev. Goldie Moore
“Preacher’s Grandkid”
My story
��What I experienced . . .
��What others experienced . . .
The Continuum of Survivorship
Suicide Exposed
Suicide
Affected
Suicide
Bereaved,
Short term
Suicide
Bereaved,
long term
(Cerel, McIntosh, Neimeyer, Marshall & Maple, 2014)
Potential Types of Individuals in Each Category�
Exposed | Affected | Suicide-Bereaved, short term | Suicide-Bereaved, long term |
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Each Death by Suicide� in the US leaves about
(Cerel, Brown, Maple, Bush, van de Venne, Moore & Flaherty, 2018)
#not6
Closeness of Suicide Exposed
Approximately 36.1% of people exposed are “close” or “highly close.”
Not just first degree relatives.
N=48
�Suicide Exposure Related to Depression & Anxiety
Those exposed to suicide are more likely to have anxiety & depression diagnoses and suicidal ideation
Collaborative Assessment and �Management of Suicidality (CAMS)
Growth from Trauma
“Even the helpless victim of a hopeless situation, facing a fate he cannot change, may rise above himself, may grow beyond himself, and by so doing change himself . . . turn a personal tragedy into a triumph”
-Viktor Frankl,
Man’s Search for Meaning
Posttraumatic Growth (PTG)
Positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances
Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006)
Five Factors (Dimensions) of Posttraumatic Growth
Posttraumatic Growth Studies
Rumination
Brooding
Reflective
POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH
Posttraumatic Growth
Suicidality
Major Findings
Resilience and active involvement in TAPS consistently predict a variety of posttraumatic growth (PTG) types.
Peer mentors scored better across all mental health indicators, including suicidality, PTSD, PTG, depression, and anxiety.
Takeaway Message
Helping Others Helps You Heal and Grow
Reasons for Living�Among Suicide Bereaved �Parents
One group indicated that their family was their reason for living.
A second group indicated that family plus being spiritual and helping others were their reasons for living.
A third group indicated that family, being spiritual, and not wanting to hurt others were their reasons for living.
A fourth group of suicide-bereaved parents indicated that their family plus enjoying life were their reasons for living.
Lessons Learned: Who Had the Highest Growth?
Helping Others had the highest posttraumatic growth
Family Only had the lowest posttraumatic growth
Group with Family plus being Spiritual and Helping Others had the highest growth.
As important as family is, family is just not enough. We must do something with our grief.
“Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Roman 12:2 (NIV)
LOSS Community Services: Growth and Hope �After Suicide Loss
Melinda Moore, PhD, Jerry Palmer, PhD, and Jon Phillips, MS
12th Annual National LOSS Team Suicide Postvention Conference
October 26, 2023
LOSS Community Services�Respondents (N = 157)
Average Age = 54.5 (22-86)
Female = 118; Male = 35; Non-Binary = 1
Caucasian = 147; African American = 7; Hispanic = 2
98% Were “close” or “very close” to the decedent
95% Stated the death had significant or devastating effects on their life.
Average of 6 years since the death.
Religious Affiliation
Anglican
Jewish
Atheist
Lutheran
Agnostic
Other
Methodist
Baptist
Presbyterian
How has your religion helped you in this experience?
Rev. James T. Clemons, PhD
Founder, Organization for Attempters and Survivors of Suicide In Interfaith Service (OASSIS)
Books by Jim Clemons
The Suicide Funeral (or Memorial Service): Honoring their Memory, Comforting their Survivors
Rabbi Daniel Roberts
After the Suicide Funeral: Wisdom on the Path to Posttraumatic Growth
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Thank You!
My Questions
It is the “little things” that can signal our growth and change more than any big splashy dramatic thing.