This article was prompted by a recent suicide by a middle school child. The school counselor who was involved (the sixth author) related the following experience.
One Child's SuicideAs a helping professional working in public education for 5 years, I have dreaded confronting a few types of situations. One early fear I had was discovering and reporting child abuse. However, there was nothing I dreaded more than the possibility of dealing with a child's suicide. Unfortunately, I was tested by this challenge during my 2nd month as a middle school counselor.
The 1st DayOne Monday in the fall, while attending a parent meeting at the middle school where I worked, I heard my name paged over the school intercom. I was asked to report to the office immediately. Upon my arrival, I saw the stricken expression of the school vice principal. I learned she was on the phone with the local police department. While still on the phone, she communicated to all the counselors present that a student had died. As soon as she hung up, she informed us that one of our eighthgrade students (who was on my caseload, but whom I had not yet met) had died from a gunshot wound, and it was suspected that he had committed suicide. Before we could start notifying the teachers at the school, our priority was to determine whether the death was a suicide or an accident. After conferring with the police, we were informed that the death was indeed a suicide. As trained professionals, we were taught to be prepared; however, we were still enveloped by a numbing shock. Our mettle tested, we were aware that many would be relying on us to be the cornerstone of strength. We prepared to face the formidable challenge of helping others to cope.Our first responsibility was to notify the teachers so they would not come to school and be blindsided by news of the tragedy. We felt it was important that the teachers and staff have an opportunity to prepare themselves for what would inevitably be a chaotic day full of grief, mourning, and questions. One of the counselors took responsibility for calling the teachers individually. The other counselor and I were delegated the task of calling the homes of the dead child's close friends to notify their parents. The parents were advised to talk to their children, explain what had happened, and process the tragedy as a family. The goal was to provide those we assessed as being the most affected by the news with an opportunity to grieve with family and to prepare all the students for the day ahead.I was assigned the unenviable task of contacting the victim's best friend. The child's mother was horrified and burst into tears upon hearing the news. Still personally shaken, I felt ill-equipped to offer any kind of comfort. For my own solace, I called my mother, a school principal, and sought support and information. She offered kind words and faxed me information about dealing with suicide at school. Although the information was helpful, as the news of the tragedy spread, there was little or no comfort to be found in the face of ...
