By Jonathan Decker (Clinical director, LMFT) No one should have to suffer the pain of a loved one’s suicide alone. However, in the face of such a tragic loss friends and family may feel ill-equipped to help; after all, what good are any words or actions next to the enormity of such sorrow? Two months ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a seminar entitled “Suicide Bereavement: What Works and What ...[Read More]
Suicide: How to Help Those Left Behind
The Hidden Ways Refusing to Grieve Can Hurt You
By Jonathan Decker, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist It was definitely one of the stranger approaches I’ve ever tried in therapy. The woman in front of me (story shared with her permission) was struggling with the death of her husband several months earlier. Like so many widows, she tried to cope by immersing herself in child-rearing and work commitments, staying busy so that she hadn& ...[Read More]
The Best Ways to Help When Someone is Grieving
By Jonathan Decker, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist In 2005 one of my college buddies lost his mother to terminal illness. My heart broke for him: I was close with my mom and struggled to comprehend what it would be like if she died. Although I wanted to be there for him, I found myself frozen into inaction, intimidated by the enormity of his loss. I felt inadequate in the face of it. Nothi ...[Read More]