ABSTRACT
For psychotherapists and other mental health professionals, the loss of a patient or client to suicide is certainly not uncommon. Studies have found that one in fi ve psychologists (Bersoff, 1999; Kleespies, 1993) and one in two psychiatrists ( Chemtob, Hamada, Bauer, Kinney, & Torigoe, 1988; Ruskin, 2004) lose a patient to suicide in the course of their careers; this statistic suggests that such a loss constitutes a clear occupational hazard (Chemtob, Bauer, Hamada, Pelowski, & Muraoka, 1989; Rubin, 1990). Despite this fact, many mental health professionals continue to view suicide loss as an aberration. Consequently, there is often a lack of preparedness for such an event when it does occur.
