Adults and Suicide
- Related pages: Alameda County Crisis Counseling Center ... Explaining Suicide to Children
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My sister is talking about suicide
Sept 1999
This is in reply to the posting regarding a therapist that specializes in Suicide Prevention. I am not sure where your sister lives. However, most cities / counties have suicide prevention services available. I have enclosed the phone number for the center in Berkeley. I am sure that they will be able to provide some advice and therapist referrals. Good Luck! Nikki
Suicide Prevention-Crisis Svc
Call 480-998-9331 (Scottsdale, AZ) to get a Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner near you to help. I wish I had known about physio-philosophy for my own sister. This is *not* a band-aid, but gets to underlying causes to help the body-mind heal. My heart goes out to you. Nori
You need to take her to a hospital emergency room so she can be evaluated immediately. If she is at risk of killing herself they can hospitalize her immediately until she is no longer suicidal. If she has a plan then you need to seek immediate help for her. Good luck.
I don't have a doctor recommendation, but a great resource for you and your family is Crisis Support Services of Alameda County. The number (which is different depending on what part of the county you are calling from) is listed in the phone book and through information. CSS may not be able to refer you to particular doctors, but they do operate a 24-hour crisis hotline staffed by trained caring volunteers. They do suicide prevention and other crisis support as well. Give your sister the number, and maybe the rest of your family too --CSS can offer helpful advice and support, because it is important that you take care of yourselves, too. They also have some community referrals, and offer some other services (ask them). Good luck.
re: referrals to help the sister who is suicidal: There is a psychologist in Albany named Leah Statman who is also a Jin Shin practitioner. I knew her in a very different context (I took a parenting class from her) but I think she might be very helpful if you want to try Jin Shin. She has two numbers listed in the phone book: 525-5080 and 528-2984. Betsy
Hi there, I am so sorry for the loss of your friend and really appreciate you reaching out for support. In terms of resources, I would recommend Crisis Support Services of Alameda County (1-800-273-8255). They offer therapy groups specifically for survivors of suicide, referrals to other resources, and a 24-hour crisis/emotional support line with trained counselors (1-800-309-2131). The support line benefits callers in active crisis but can also provide confidential, brief, emotional support to anyone so that there's simply a safe space to talk about what you're going through.
I think a period of grieving (just sitting with the absence of your friend and feeling the change) could be good. Maybe write a letter to her (that you never send, or maybe burn) to get closure would help?
My best friend’s brother killed himself in 2020. Even though he’d talked about it before, it was still shocking. One thing that’s helped them is continuing to get together to celebrate his birthday at a large family dinner where they can share happy memories of him. They also participated in grief counseling at Hinds Hospice, but they aren’t located in the Bay Area. You may contact them anyway to see if they have a Bay Area recommendation? Here’s their resource page: https://www.hindshospice.org/patients-caregivers/center-grief-healing/g…
I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. Margo Rose has written a book you may find useful called "Body Aware Grieving." More info about the book as well as other resources at https://bodyawareliving.com/
(Note to Moderator: I recently submitted a post recommending Body Aware Grieving. This is another resource you can add to my post.)
You can also check out the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (www.AFSP.org). They have an excellent section of services for people needing support following the loss of someone they care about.
I had a close friend in high school who committed suicide. For years I wracked my brains on what I could have done- wanted to talk to people who knew him - but nobody wanted to process this pain the way I did. In fact years later someone apologized to me for ignoring me at the funeral. And then suddenly I realized something out of the blue about 8 years later. I’m not sure if telling you this would help or if people “snap” out of it on their own- but I realized my friend did this. Many people go through hell and back and never commit- but my friend did this. & Honoring your friend is a lovely gesture- and I think it is important to follow your inner voice. Be mindful of what you expect and your goals to get closure. Some people may not want to celebrate her life the way you do. Attending a suicide loss group may help as well. Best wishes- you WILL feel ok with this on some level when you are ready- but it takes time.