Unburdening Suffering: Responses of Psychiatrists To Patients' Suicide Deaths

Abstract

The research questions was: 'How do psychiatrists describe their responses to patients' suicidal deaths in the light of a published model of consolation?' The textual data (n = 5) was a subset of a larger (n = 19) study. Thematic analysis showed a main theme, 'unburdening grief', and six themes. Embedded in the results is a story about suffering that reveals that, through ethical reflectiveness, a meaning of suffering can be recreated that unburdens grief and opens up new understandings with and among disciplines. This can help to prepare health professionals to respond to people who suffer because of suicidal death.