|
SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS: also now listed is the contact list for the "Survivors of Suicide Support Groups Network" State wide
Anchorage Meetings
7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M., the first and third Tuesday
Survivors of Suicide Support Group Meetings
The support group meetings are designed to support family members and friends of those in our communities that have died by suicide. Often family members and friends have reactions that include, depression, grief, feels of being overwhelmed, abandonment, hurt, sorrow, guilt, anger and many others. There seems to always be one question; “How could my loved one / friend do this?" to him or her self, or to me? After a suicide, it is common to have others consider suicide as their way out of their pain.
Our goal is to help those effected by suicide, come to some kind of relief from the pain; find some level of understanding, and somehow, integrate this loss into their life, and help them gather up the pieces of their life and go on from here. Typically this takes a couple years for some, longer for others, and less for others.
In Alaska our Chaplains Program has been the only organization to offer Survivors of Suicide Support Group meetings. There may be a reason for this. It may be that the reactions displayed by survivors could overwhelm some facilitators. Not everyone is able to facilitate this target group. Some of the qualifiers for facilitating this group should include being trained in group dynamics, acquainted with grief, trained in traumatic stress and Suicide: Postvention, Prevention and Intervention.
|