Aggression as a natural part of suicide bereavement

This article analyzes anger as a phase in the process of bereavement after suicide. Anger is generally very difficult for the survivors to recognize, accept, and express. At the beginning of the survivors' group meetings, anger is repressed and denied. After the group has become more structured and more cohesive, the aggression is first expressed indirectly (through dreams) and directed at different objects (the environment, the survivor him- or herself). In the final group sessions, when the members support each other emotionally, both the group atmosphere and the therapist help them to recognize their anger and to vent their aggression toward their relative who committed suicide. If the survivors do not go through this phase, the bereavement process should not be considered completed.