ABSTRACT

This technique is a guided exploration that has been used primarily with adults who were unable to engage in a formal mourning ritual (e.g. funeral) following a suicide loss. It can be adapted for other types of loss if participating in a mourning ritual was not possible or when the ritual that occurred did not feel appropriate to the client. Special caution should be used if adapting the technique for use in groups, particularly with adolescents, to ensure that commemoration does not lead to glorification of the suicide death. The clinician should consider the client’s cultural meanings related to mourning rituals, his or her beliefs about suicide, and the intersection of these concepts.