From Grief to Resilience: Supporting the Palliative Care Team’s Healing Process after a Patient’s Suicide

Abstract

Suicide by patients can cause significant distress for the palliative care team. This includes feelings of guilt and self-blame which affect both staff morale and mental well-being, which if left unaddressed, can eventually lead to burnout. We report the case of a patient suicide and how our organization implemented a framework to guide and support staff through this process. The HEAL framework comprises 4 components: honoring the loss of the patient, encouraging self-care and organizational support, affirming the individual and team’s sense of meaning and purpose, and learning lessons from the patient’s suicide.