A Review of Peer Support for Suicide Bereavement as a Postvention Alternative

Authors

  • Dixie Rawlinson
  • Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work
  • Constance A. Barlow University of Calgary, Faculty of Social Work

Abstract

Peer support is acknowledged as a cornerstone in recovery from mental illness and addictions; yet its applicability for survivors of suicide has not been explored. Most postvention programs consist of professionally led individual and group counseling services. Alternatives to traditional professional counseling interventions are reported in the mental health peer support literature. We examine the postvention literature and the related mental health literature on peer support programs to determine their relevance and applicability. This report considers peer support provided as a postvention option or supplied in tandem with conventional professional services. Finally, we examine this as an intervention that also needs to be documented by quantitative and qualitative methods so that the presumptions and hesitations about its efficaciousness with suicide survivors can be documented.

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Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2009)

Section

Articles

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