Parental suicide: a systems perspective

In addressing how to treat children after a parent's suicide, most authors focus on the individual child's loss and grief. The author examines the need for clinicians to expand the treatment focus to include a multidimensional process involving the family and the larger social system. A clinical case illustrates an integrated treatment approach that addresses the effects of trauma and loss on the child, the family, the societal support system, and the therapist, as well as on the interactions among these systems.