Using Narrative Counseling and Re-membering Practices with College Students Impacted by Suicide

RM 210

Traditional discourses around death and bereavement invite conversations about "letting go" and "moving on" from our deceased loved ones, which emphasizes the finality of death and disconnects us from those we love. Modern discourses around suicide further alienate us from the deceased. Suicide is a challenging topic to address and acknowledge, due to the sensitive nature of the act, emotions and social stigma attached to it. The graduate student researchers have conducted a research project to understand the effects of suicide on the lives of the bereaved, in this case, university students. They will present their research and address the research question “Does narrative therapy and its practices (specifically re-membering practices) ameliorate the pain caused by the death of a loved one by suicide?” While they do not claim that re-membering practices remove all pain, they believe they can make a difference in how participants view the transition of death, especially when the death is traumatic or violent in nature. Krystal Howard & Caryn Kruse will be graduating in June 2015 with an M.S in Counseling and Guidance from Cal State San Bernardino in. Under the mentorship of Dr. Lorraine Hedtke and Dr. John Winslade, they have been studying and discovering their personal and professional passion for narrative therapy and the power of re-membering conversations. They have both been invested in understanding the important narrative research to continue exploring the impact of those whose lives have been changed as a result of another person’s suicide.