WURST CLIENT CLEAR FRIENDS PROFESSIONAL
Looking at the long-term impact of client suicide, MPH’s are likely to be subject to both far-reaching personal and professional consequences. As such, client suicide seems to elicit symptomatology comparable to what we see when one loses a parent (Chemtob et al., 1988 Greenberg & Shefler, 2014). Research suggests about 50% of psychologists and social workers who have experienced client suicide go on to display post-traumatic stress symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, avoidant behavior toward potential suicidal clients, sleep disturbances, irritability, difficulty managing life events, and emotional burnout (Chemtob, Hamada, Bauer, Kinney, & Torigoe, 1988 Dransart, Gutjahr, Gulfi, Didisheim, & Séguin, 2014 Ellis & Patel, 2012 Ting et al., 2006). Feelings of distress, depression, anger at the client and/or agency/society, guilt, shame, a profound sense of responsibility, failure, and feelings of incompetence soon follow (Ting, Sanders, Jacobson, & Power, 2006). In the immediate aftermath of client suicide, MHPs are reported to experience emotions of shock, disbelief, confusion, and denial (Kleespies, Smith, & Becker, 1990). To no surprise, 97% of clinicians claim client suicide to be their greatest fear (Ellis & Patel, 2012), as client suicide can have far-reaching consequences for psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, general practitioners, and social workers, alike. Incidence rates vary depending on the geographical area of interest, with 30–80% of MHPs in Belgium, the U.S., Ireland, and Australia, as well as approximately 98% of MHPs in Slovenia who indicate to have lost a client to suicide (Finlayson & Simmonds, 2018 Grad, Zavasnik, & Groleger, 1997 Greenberg & Shefler, 2014 Landers, O'Brien, & Phelan, 2010 Rothes, Scheerder, Van Audenhove, & Henriques, 2013). Unfortunately, client suicides are not uncommon in clinical practice. Client suicide is used to refer to cases where a mental health practitioner (MHP) is exposed, affected, or bereaved by a client’s suicide (Ellis & Patel, 2012).
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