DIGEST-Volume-10-Issue-2-FULL ISSUE

16 TPC Digest | S uicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and a 2014 study found that nearly one-third of a sample of individuals who completed suicide in the United States were enrolled in mental health services within the year prior to their death. Because of this, approximately 25% of counselors are counselor survivors, meaning they have had at least one client die by suicide. Client suicide tends to impact counselor survivors in a number of different ways. Many counselor survivors have reported feeling ashamed, overwhelmed, and unprepared. Counselor survivors also have reported that after client death by suicide, they have experienced substantial emotional distress related to shame, reduced self-efficacy in their work with suicidal clients, and efforts to reduce work with clients at risk for client suicide. C ounselor survivors often receive support from their institutions of employment as well as from other professionals (e.g., colleagues, counselors, and supervisors). Counselor survivors’ complex emotions and perception of failing as a professional can leave them grasping for assistance to make sense of the event. Institutional responses to client suicide vary and often include aspects like chart audits, debriefings, or avoidance. This study was intended to examine how the responses of agencies and other professionals impact counselor survivors’ experiences of client suicide. Nathaniel J. Wagner, Colleen M. L. Grunhaus, Victor E. Tuazon Agency Responses to Counselor Survivors of Client Suicide