Suicide Support Groups

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Suicide has increased as a leading cause of death in the United States and continues to effect over 30,000 Americans each year. For every 100,000 person nationwide, 12.6 deaths have occurred by suicide. The American Association of Suicidology has listed 41,149 deaths by suicide in the nation as of 2013. Because suicide can be relevant to both genders of all ages and ethnicity's, it should be addressed with the proper awareness and education. Support groups were created and has provided information and support to families, survivors, and other members. The support group for suicide awareness was first organized in 1996 by Gerald and Elsie Weyrauch, after the loss of their daughter, known as the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA). …show more content…

Evelyn Figueroa agreed that any patients joining a support group is beneficial to his/her recovery, “ Yes, support groups absolutely work because that means there are others with similar, if not worse, problems then you. It gives the patient hope and strength to continue treatment because they are not the only one with these thoughts [suicidal specific] and they are not the only ones seeking help.” Support groups play an important part in dealing with and overcoming problems. Support groups bring a sense of community to an individual, providing the tools to assist them in living a healthy lifestyle. Organizing a support group takes time and effort, leaders hold the responsibility of maintaining the group’s structure and keeping the group on topic. Leaders must make sure to keep the topics broad enough to contribute to helping a larger group. Starting out as a form of therapy by doctors, support groups are now able to be formed by community members, patients who have progressed in recovery and organizations have been formed solely on providing the necessary forms of support and direction on where your local support group can be found. Organizations such as The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention provides public direction to support groups in every state, as well as provide online support. Forms of online support can be through video …show more content…

Police officer Jasmine Bird MSW, former social worker with MICA clients at NarcoFreedom, responded that support group treatments vary on the patient’s choice of attempt at suicide. “In my opinion, I don’t think support groups work for everyone. As a social worker, I believe that if you want to die you will do it. If it is a half attempt then you are not suicidal, you are crying out for help and you just don’t know any other way. I think that patients are less likely to join a group because they feel shame, guilty and they don’t want others to know. Honestly, it depends on the individual, you are most likely not going to find a connection between someone who tried to commit suicide because of a voice in their head with someone who just broke up with a boyfriend/girlfriend. Maybe support groups work on a clinical bases, but it’s not for

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