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Psychiatrists' Experience of a Peer Support Group for Reflecting on Patient Suicide and Homicide: A Qualitative Study

Tamworth, Millie; Killaspy, Helen; Billings, Jo; Gibbons, Rachel; (2022) Psychiatrists' Experience of a Peer Support Group for Reflecting on Patient Suicide and Homicide: A Qualitative Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 19 (21) , Article 14507. 10.3390/ijerph192114507. Green open access

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Abstract

There is a lack of support for mental health professionals who experience a patient suicide or homicide. This is despite a high likelihood of such an occurrence and the heavy professional and personal toll the experience can take. We conducted 15 interviews with members of a facilitated peer support group run for consultant psychiatrists who have experienced a patient homicide or suicide. Our interviews explored the trauma of the experience as well as the effectiveness of the group in helping the clinician heal. Our results echoed previous research that the experience can be profoundly traumatic. A professionally facilitated, consultant-only peer group specifically dedicated to suicide and homicide were the key components helping participants to process their grief. Mental health trusts should consider setting up facilitated peer support groups for clinicians who experience patient suicide or homicide.

Type: Article
Title: Psychiatrists' Experience of a Peer Support Group for Reflecting on Patient Suicide and Homicide: A Qualitative Study
Location: Switzerland
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114507
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114507
Language: English
Additional information: © 2022 MDPI. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: mental health practitioners, peer-support, postvention, psychiatrists, qualitative research, suicide bereavement, Humans, Homicide, Bereavement, Suicide, Self-Help Groups, Peer Group, Psychiatry
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry > Epidemiology and Applied Clinical Research
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10159636
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