The Role of Funeral Staff in Suicide Postvention
Alison Clements
Published September 2022
Suicide bereavement is a complex, stigmatising and isolating experience which can have long-lasting negative effects.
Australian research has shown that more than half of our population knows someone who has died by suicide. Suicide Postvention is organised support provided to those impacted by suicide. This includes formal counselling and bereavement services in addition to more informal support from friends and families, as well as frontline staff, such as funeral workers, police and paramedics. Funeral directors are one of the first services contacted by families following a suicide, however, they have been overlooked and underacknowledged for the important role they can play in this context.
Challenge of suicide bereavement funerals
Recently published research by Alison Clements (Manager, Suicide Aware) at the University of Western Australia (UWA) shows that funerals due to suicide are inherently challenging for funeral staff due to the impact of this type of loss on family and mourners. The stigma around the cause of death, mixed feelings and strained/unpredictable communication amongst families can make planning the funeral more complex. The preparation of the deceased by mortuary staff can be challenging given autopsy marks, coronial delays and the nature of self-injuries. The family’s lack of preparedness for the funeral together with heightened emotions amongst mourners, particularly young people, can make for a difficult and unpredictable funeral service. These funerals are experienced by staff in all roles as complex in terms of emotionality, timing and communication. Finding the right words to say and how to communicate well is of particular concern. Staff make a range of adjustments to negotiate this complexity, individually, and on the basis of their role and experience.
Working well with suicide bereavement funerals
To address these experiences and support funeral staff to work well with suicide bereavement funerals, Neami National partnered with Bowra & O’Dea, the largest family owned funeral provider in Perth, to design a training program specifically for funeral staff: Working Well with Suicide and Sudden Loss. The Training package has been evaluated through UWA as being of substantial benefit to funeral staff. It increased knowledge, confidence and skills with managing emotionality, communication and engagement with families and mourners when working with suicide bereavement funerals.
About the Training
The Training is three hours and meets new legislative WHS requirements for managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace. It can be conducted in person or online and is available to all funeral providers. The Training delivers information and resources including: facts and myths about suicide; impacts on families and communities; best practice language and communication; staff wellbeing – Work Health and Safety and resources for further learning and support.
