Penetrating the Silence of Sorrow: Counselling those Bereaved by Suicide - Volume 17 - Issue 2 - Student Article

Oct 22, 2026

An academic student article examines how suicide functions as a reaction shaped by psychological drives, pain-avoidance, and tabooed social silence. It reviews key psychological and aetiological dimensions relevant to therapy, emphasizing therapist presence without disrupting grief. Using referenced scholarship, it explores suicide’s relationship to pleasure and pain, the silence surrounding bereavement, and Ireland’s policy shift toward confronting suicide. It also analyzes substance abuse as an acute risk factor, linking mood-altering use, impulsivity, adolescent vulnerability, and social media influences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Psychology and Aetiology of Suicide

Substance Abuse

Social Media and Suicide

Volume 17 • Issue 2 • Summer 2017 ~~ ~~ Student Article Penetrating the Silence of Sorrow: Counselling those Bereaved by Suicide. Alan Kavanagh Introduction Suicidal people are made, not born. Suicide is less a decision than a reaction. I believed that if they could learn what is being reacted to, then we would have an opportunity to interrupt the suicidal impulse- Norman Farberow (as cited by Dovel, 2015, p. 661) . It has long been a valued consensus that we are pleasureseeking creatures and will try to avoid pain at all costs. Freud (1922) suggested that all decision-making derives from these two drives. Sadly, for some, the ultimate price to pay to cease this pain is to see suicide as a feasible option. The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the psychology and aetiology of suicide and to examine what can be useful when therapists encounter someone who has been bereaved by suicide. Essentially, this article will consider how to best help the bereaved “break through the walls of silence surrounding” them, without interrupting the grieving process. Ultimately, for healing to occur, we must trust the importance of just being present with the “inner spirit touching inner spirit”(Rogers, as cited by O’Rourke, 2017a) . The Psychology and Aetiology of Suicide Therapists are taught that human beings possess a growth tendency, the drive to self-actualise, to become themselves to the fullest degree (Rogers, 2011) . How then do we make sense of the suicidal, whose thoughts, feelings and behaviours appear antithetical to this? If, as Francis Bacon proclaimed, knowledge itself is power, then therapists would be well served in exploring the psychological and aetiological underpinnings to this silent, devastating killer. Furthermore, if we lack knowledge of this soul-destroying phenomenon, what support will we be to survivors – those coping with the ‘shock, of water encountering a rock’ after suicide. Suicide is synonymous with silence. For years, it was the greatest taboo, with Ireland being “the last European country to decriminalize it” (Leenars, 2008) . Thankfully, times have changed. With the enactment of the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993, our country witnessed a growing willingness to confront the shadows of suicide. Anton Leenars (2008), in his seminal work on suicide around the world, finishes his review of Ireland stating: “Ireland, indeed, may well bethe best example where there is now a growing healthy balance between death and suicide, even while the country embraces a family/community approach to death and dying. Once more, inan appropriate way, Ireland is an exception” (Leenars, 2008) . Leenars (1995, p.54 as cited by O’Rourke, 2017b) asserts,“Suicide is best defined as an event with biological, psychological, interpersonal, situational, sociological, cultural and existential components.” Moreover, suicidologist Edwin Schneidman (1985) emphasised,‘suicide is everyone’s business.’ Consequently, a deeper understanding of suicide is required. While it is not possible to explore each of Leenars’ suggested antecedents, the reader will be presented with a literature review of some aetiological factors. Substance Abuse “No one ever tells us to stop running away…the advice we usually get is to sweeten it up, smooth it over, take a pill, Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy 13 ~~ ~~ Volume 17 • Issue 2 • Summer 2017 or distract ourselves, but by all means make it go away.”(Chödrön, 2000, p.5) . If humans are pleasure-seeking creatures, then substance use is perhaps the epitome of hedonism. On the surface, the ingestion of mood-altering substances is an attempt to seek pleasure; however, it is unquestionably often an attempt to avoid pain. Substance use and suicide are inevitably linked. Theodora Fine (2008, p.11) informs us that 90% of individuals who complete suicide have a mental health or substance disorder. Fine (2008, p.12) argues, that substance use is

FAQs

How does the article explain why suicidal people are made rather than born?

It frames suicidal tendencies as learned responses rather than innate traits, treating suicide more as a reaction than a deliberate choice. The article argues that identifying what is being reacted to can help interrupt suicidal impulses.

What does the article suggest therapists should do with bereaved clients?

It emphasizes helping the bereaved break through the silence surrounding them while trusting the process of grief. Healing is linked to being present with the client’s inner experience.

Why does the article connect substance abuse to suicide risk?

It describes substance use as an attempt to avoid pain and as an acute risk factor for suicide. The discussion cites findings that many people who complete suicide have mental health or substance-related disorders, and it highlights impulsivity as a shared pathway.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Lucas Martin