Waves is an eight week programme that aims to support adults aged 18 and older who have been bereaved by suicide.
For Waves group contacts in your region please email [email protected]
The programme combines learning about suicide and bereavement, with group discussion and support. The group is facilitated by two trained facilitators over eight weeks and supports members to:
- meet and share with others who are also experiencing the impact of suicide
- explore aspects of their grief and reduce isolation and stigma associated with bereavement by suicide in a safe and supportive environment
- get information and strategies about how to care for themselves and others (including children and young people), after a suicide
- adjust to living with loss and moving forward.
Overview of sessions
Session 1: Introduction
Participants get to know facilitators and other group members, and set guidelines for working together.
Session 2: Understanding the grieving process
Participants look at their grief experience, and the common and unique aspects of grief reactions.
Session 3: The effects of grief and suicide
The group explores how suicide and grief have affected the many dimensions of their lives.
Session 4: Living with ‘Why?’ and managing the hard times
Putting suicide into perspective and seeing it as just one event in their lives, not necessarily the defining event.
Session 5: Helping others through the hard times
Practical strategies for helping others through hard times, and information about how suicide affects others.
Session 6: Healing and new beginnings
Skills for healing and maintaining healthy connections with loved ones.
Session 7: Looking ahead
Sharing strategies for rebuilding and re-organising their lives so they can regain a focus on life and the future.
Session 8: Closure, feedback and evaluation
Finishing the work the group has been doing and providing feedback.
Skylight offers a two-day workshop to train people to run the Waves programme in your community.
Click for more information about Waves facilitator training and Waves groups in your region.