“It's like losing a family member”: School counselors’ experience with student suicide

Abstract

Given the prevalence of suicide among school-aged children and youth, school counselors may experience a student death by suicide in their careers. Yet, there is little empirical research exploring the nuances and depth of school counselors’ experiences with student suicide. In this study, the authors employed consensual qualitative research to explore the experience of 12 school counselors who encountered student death by suicide. Three domains emerged consisting of five general, four typical, and four variant categories highlighting school counselors’ experiences learning about the student suicide, the long-term impact of the student death on school counselors’ personal and professional lives, and their advice for school counselors who experience a student suicide at some point in their careers. Findings have implications for school counseling practice, counselor educators, and future research.