Post-Traumatic Growth After Suicide Loss Across the Lifespan

In this course, Dr. Melinda Moore, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University, shares her story of suicide bereavement to set the scene for the many intense emotions she and others have experienced in the aftermath of suicide. The continuum of survivorship explains the degree of impact various parties tend to experience, from fans of celebrities to intimate partners. Moore cites statistics to show how those exposed to suicide are at higher risk for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidality, but growth is possible. Defining posttraumatic growth (PTG), Moore outlines its dimensions and describes the results of several studies to show how much PTG different groups have experienced on the various subscales of instruments to measure it. There were significant differences between different age groups.