NAMI Ask the Expert: Suicide Prevention Session 2: Making Meaning of Loss OD015

An on-demand video and transcript of the presentation are available here [opens in new tab].

About The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. They are an alliance of more than 650 local Affiliates and 49 State organizations who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education to people with mental illness and their loved ones. Through awareness, advocacy and education, NAMI is committed to building stronger communities and a better future for everyone affected by mental illness.

Course Summary

Practice Level: Beginner

This course, based on the Ask the Expert webinar series by NAMI, is the second in the 3-part Suicide Prevention Series and focuses on how suicide loss survivors find meaning, healing, and purpose after tragedy. Panelists share deeply personal stories of losing loved ones to suicide and how they transformed grief into advocacy, support, and community leadership. The session highlights coping strategies, the importance of community, challenges of guilt and stigma, cultural perspectives on grief, and the role of faith, family, and advocacy in healing.

The course, with an intended audience of social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and counselors, will gain insight into the lived experience of suicide loss and explore supportive practices that promote resilience, remembrance, and hope.

Course Format

This course contains a participant guide, practice test, and on-demand video (with a slide deck of the presentation). When you’re ready, purchase the course by clicking the “Add To Cart” or “Enroll” button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the psychological and emotional impact of suicide loss on families and communities.
2. Identify common challenges survivors face, including stigma, guilt, cultural barriers, and isolation.
3. Explain examples of meaning-making activities (e.g., memorial quilts, advocacy, nonprofit development, community education) that support healing and resilience.
4. Analyze supportive strategies for working with survivors of suicide loss, including peer support, faith, storytelling, and community resources.

Course Syllabus

• Introduction to Suicide Loss and Survivor Experiences
• Personal Narratives of Loss and Grief
• Themes in Coping and Meaning-Making
• Strategies for Professionals and Communities

Current References

Ahn, S. Y., Yu, S., Kim, J. E., & Song, I. H. (2023). The relationship between suicide bereavement and suicide ideation: Analysis of the mediating effect of complicated grief. Journal of Affective Disorders, 331, 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.03.008[opens in new tab]

Levi-Belz, Y., Krysinska, K., & Andriessen, K. (2023). What do we know about suicide bereavement, and what we can do to help suicide-loss survivors? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(8), 5577. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085577[opens in new tab]

Pitman, A., Osborn, D., King, M., & Erlangsen, A. (2014). Effects of suicide bereavement on mental health and suicide risk. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(1), 86–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70224-X[opens in new tab]

Romero-Moreno, J. C., Cantero-García, M., Huertes-Del Arco, A., Izquierdo-Sotorrío, E., Rueda-Extremera, M., & González-Moreno, J. (2024). Grief intervention in suicide loss survivors through cognitive-behavioral therapy: A systematic review. Behavioral Sciences, 14(9), 791. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14090791[opens in new tab]

Ramamurthy, C., Fraser, T., Krysinska, K., Hawgood, J., Kõlves, K., Reifels, L., Reavley, N., & Andriessen, K. (2025). Effectiveness of suicide postvention service models and guidelines 2014–-2024: A scoping review. Preventive Medicine, 195, 108279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108279[opens in new tab]

Szuhany, K. L., Malgaroli, M., Miron, C. D., & Simon, N. M. (2021). Prolonged grief disorder: Course, diagnosis, assessment, and treatment.Focus, 19(2), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20200052[opens in new tab]

Wagner, B., Rosenberg, N., Hofmann, L., & Maass, U. (2020). Web-based bereavement care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 525. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00525[opens in new tab]

Instructors

Ken Duckworth, M.D.

Ken Duckworth’s journey into psychiatry started when he was a boy growing up with a dad who experienced severe bipolar disorder. His father was loving, kind and periodically quite ill, hospitalized for months at a time. Ken became a psychiatrist in part to help his father. He is very fortunate to serve as the Chief Medical Officer for NAMI and to be part of this remarkable community.

Ken recently authored NAMI’s first book, “You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health―With Advice from Experts and Wisdom from Real People and Families.” Written with authority and compassion, this is the essential resource for individuals and families seeking expert guidance on diagnosis, treatment and recovery, featuring inspiring, true stories from real people in their own words.

Ken is double-board certified in adult and child/adolescent psychiatry and has completed a forensic psychiatry fellowship.

Karyl Chastain Beal

Karyl Chastain Beal lost her 18-year-old daughter, Arlyn, to suicide in 1990; after her death, Arlyn was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In order to help herself and others bereaved by suicide find a positive way to process their grief, she’s coordinated memorial quilts, published books and participated in a variety of other projects. She lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Joseph D. Feaster, Jr.

Attorney Joseph D. Feaster, Jr. has been practicing law for over 45 years, during which time he has developed an expertise in numerous areas of the law, including corporate, employment and labor, real estate, contract, licensing and zoning and probate. Feaster is President of Feaster Enterprises, a strategic planning, organizational development and community outreach consulting firm and Of Counsel to the firm of Dain/ Torpy/LeRay/Wiest/Garner PC. Besides several other legal positions, he previously served as the court-appointed Receiver for Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center, as the Interim Town Manager of the Town of Stoughton and as the Interim Administrator of the Boston Housing Authority. He currently is chairman of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts board of directors (ULEM), is an executive committee member of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Council of Samaritans Massachusetts.

Pooja Mehta

Pooja Mehta is an outspoken South Asian Mental Health Advocate who has been telling her story to audiences across the United States for the last seven years. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Pooja holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University and is currently serving in a fellowship at the U.S. House of Representatives. As a professional with lived experience, she is eager to further the conversation around the roles of public health and patient perspective in mental healthcare and looks forward to changing the way we think and talk about mental health as a society.

Kristen Roper

Kristen Roper is a wife, mother and former teacher. She lost her middle son, Matthew, to suicide in 2020 and has founded Matthew’s Crew Inc. in his name to help promote both mental health education as well as conversation related to this often-difficult subject. She is honored to be included in NAMI’s book “You Are Not Alone.”

Nicole Errickson, LCSW

Nicole is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Georgia. She brings over 19 years experience in the social work field, primarily working in school systems as a school social worker and with the McKinney-Vento grant. Over her career, Nicole has had several opportunities to help develop and execute professional development events. Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of South Alabama and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Alabama.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CE4Less.com maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/8/24-8/8/27.

Social workers completing this course receive 1 clinical continuing education credits.

This course has been approved by CE4Less.com, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #91345, CE4Less.com is responsible for all aspects of the programing.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.