Suicide Loss Support Groups
Finding connection and understanding after losing someone to suicide can be a crucial part of the healing journey. Suicide loss survivors often carry a unique burden of grief, complicated by feelings of guilt, confusion, and isolation that others may struggle to understand. A suicide loss support group provides a safe, compassionate space where survivors can share their experiences with others who truly understand the depth of their pain. These groups offer validation, reduce the isolation that often accompanies suicide loss, and provide practical coping strategies from those who have walked a similar path. Whether you’re newly bereaved or years into your grief journey, connecting with others who have experienced suicide loss can help you process complex emotions and find hope for healing.
To locate a support group in your area, visit https://afsp.org/find-a-support-group/ to access resources and connect with a community that understands.
Crisis Resources
If you or someone you know is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, please contact one of these resources immediately:
United States
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (available 24/7)
- Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 (available 24/7)
- SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 (available 24/7, free and confidential)
- Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, or text 838255
- The Trevor Project (LGBTQ Youth): 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678678
- Emergency Services: Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room
International
- International Association for Suicide Prevention: https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
- Befrienders Worldwide: https://www.befrienders.org/
Suicide Loss Support Guides
These comprehensive suicide loss survivor guides offer essential resources for navigating grief, healing, and recovery after losing someone to suicide. The resources address the unique challenges of suicide bereavement including guilt, anger, shock, complicated grief, and the search for why. They provide practical coping strategies, safety planning tools, and the Suicide Griever’s Bill of Rights. The guides cover understanding mental health conditions and suicide risk factors. They offer guidance for handling difficult times like holidays and anniversaries. They include age-appropriate strategies for helping children and teens cope with loss. The resources emphasize connecting with the survivor community through support groups, peer support networks, and International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day events. They provide extensive bibliographies for different survivor populations including parents, siblings, spouses, friends, and military families. The guides offer practical advice on self-care, seeking professional help, explaining suicide to others, and managing trauma responses. They ultimately focus on moving from devastating grief toward healing, hope, and growth through connection with others who understand the unique pain of suicide loss.
From Grief to Growth: Healing After a Suicide Loss
48 Page PDF
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
The TAPS “From Grief to Growth” guidebook offers suicide loss survivors a compassionate, evidence-based roadmap for healing. Written by survivors for survivors, this free resource addresses suicide-specific grief challenges, provides safety planning tools, and guides families from stabilization toward posttraumatic growth.
Surviving a Suicide Loss: Resource and Healing Guide
48 Page PDF
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
The AFSP “Surviving a Suicide Loss” guidebook, created by fellow survivors, addresses the unique challenges of suicide grief including shock, guilt, anger, and the painful question “why.” This comprehensive resource offers coping strategies, support group information, guidance for helping children, and extensive survivor stories.
A Handbook for Coping With Suicide Grief
36 Page PDF
Jeffrey Jackson, SOLACE
This handbook offers compassionate guidance for those navigating suicide loss. It addresses the unique aspects of suicide grief including guilt, anger, and the search for why, while explaining stages of grief, battling misconceptions, and finding acceptance. The resource includes practical coping strategies, support information, and the Suicide Griever’s Bill of Rights.
