in the Jura, a support group to “put words and reduce suffering”

Since September 2024, a support group has been open to people in Burgundy-Franche-Comté whose loved one has killed themselves. It meets twice a month in Dole (Jura). Explanations.

Two men, seven women. They are between 25 and 70 years old. Everyone in this discussion group has in common that they have lost a loved one.

Suicide causes 9,000 deaths per year in France. For families, we must overcome this sudden death, rebuild ourselves, move towards mourning. For every person who commits suicide, between 6 and 10 people in their close circle are bereaved.

It is to help these families that the Jura specialized hospital center has set up this support group. People bereaved by suicide who sometimes come to consultations regularly express the need to share with others what they have experienced.

“The idea of ​​this support group is not a treatment group. It’s really a group where people can share and get together. We want to offer people bereaved by suicide a place outside the hospital to discuss with others their feelings and their experiences following the loss of a loved one. For 1h30, the idea is to be able to freely express the emotions they feel, and share them, and for them to be welcomed by the other members of the group in a non-judgmental way, which is not done always outside” explains Céline Alderici, psychologist.

To participate in this group, a period of six months after a suicide is recommended. Before, things are too hard, people are not necessarily ready to address or express their emotions.

The first support group set up brings together bereaved people at very different times. Which also makes it an engine. “Each bereaved by suicide will move forward in a very different way. Some have the impression that it remains recent, that it is as if it happened yesterday, even though it may have been 5-10 years, and they have suffering almost as great as the day after the event. Others will have other resources, and that too, these are things that are very individual”underlines Laurence Miguet-Marguier, psychiatrist.

“We had rather positive feedback from the first participants. It is a place of exchange and sharing where they can freely express their emotions which is not necessarily the case, even within their own family unit since everyone has their own grieving process and does not necessarily move forward. at the same pace” adds Claire Marie Tainturier, psychiatrist.

In Bourogne-Franche-Comté, a second discussion group will begin in January 2025. If you are interested, you can contact the CHS du Jura on 06 70 18 22 63 or by email [email protected]

Pilot, this support group currently set up in the Jura with the support of the Regional Health Agency and the support of doctor Maud Benetti from the Dijon University Hospital could produce small ones. And spread across the region to allow us to be as close as possible to people bereaved by suicide.

The number of suicides has been falling for 20 years in France. In 2022, there were 9,200 deaths by suicide recorded in France. A figure up slightly compared to 2021, when there were 8,951 suicides. 75% of suicides concern men.

This free call number, accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week anywhere in the national territory, provides support for people with suicidal thoughts and those around them, from the first thoughts of death to the crisis. suicidal.

This suicide hope site also offers resources to help bereaved people.