Content Warning: This podcast discusses suicide, suicidal thoughts, and suicide bereavement. Some content may be distressing. Please listen in a way that feels safe for you and seek support if needed.

Description: This episode explores the different ways that institutions and families respond after a suicide death. Grief after suicide often includes trauma, stigma, and complicated emotions, particularly within military and public safety communities. Panellists examine tensions around memorialization, recognition, and whether a death is formally acknowledged as service-related. For families, remembrance is an ongoing process; for institutions, it is often treated as a single event. The conversation emphasizes compassionate communication, family inclusion from the beginning, and long-term follow-up beyond formal ceremonies.

Moderated by:

Suzanne Bailey: Long-time social worker with Canada’s Department of National Defence and contributor to the Road to Mental Readiness program

Dr. Henry Bowen: Director of research, Military and Emergency Services Health Australia

Guest Panellists:

Dr. Matthew Barrett: Historian, artist and Managing Editor of the journal Canadian Military History

Claudine Barrette: Clinical psychologist and National Clinical Advisor for Wounded Warriors Canada

Relevant Resources:

· Suicide in Canadian military: Fallen on the Field of Honour?: Attitudes of the Canadian Public towards Suicides in the Canadian Military—1914-2014

· Surviving Family Program: Wounded Warriors Canada—Surviving Family Program

· Complicated grief (military): Support for Complicated Grief in Military Primary Care: Associations, Challenges, and Opportunities

· Sam Sharpe memorial: Veterans Affairs Canada—Lieutenant-Colonel Sam Sharpe Relief

· Suicide postvention (Australia): Support After First Responder Suicide (SAFeRS) Study: Short Report

· Family support for military and PSP suicide: Suicide risk is high for military and emergency workers – but support for their families and peers is missing

· Military suicide exposure and risk (contagion-USA): Those left behind: A scoping review of the effects of suicide exposure on veterans, service members, and military families

· Military Family Bereavement: National Military Family Bereavement Study