Bereavement by traumatic deaths – including suicide, homicide, murder-suicide and accidents – can significantly impact on an individual’s mental and physical health, increasing risk of depression, complicated grief and suicide. In addition, those who are bereaved by sudden, unnatural or violent death often report higher levels of perceived stigma, as well as other factors including trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), compared with those bereaved by natural causes. As a consequence, individuals bereaved by a traumatic death may require specialised supports, particularly those tailored to the nature of the death and mental health conditions of the individual. people bereaved by suicide, who will account for a large proportion of traumatic deaths, have been identified as a key priority group for suicide prevention in Connecting for Life: Ireland’s national strategy to reduce suicide, 2015-2024, with specific actions to improve and standardise the availability of tailored supports in Ireland for those bereaved by suicide (Actions 4.3.1 and 4.3.2). A 2019 review of the literature in this area highlighted a lack of evidence on interventions for those bereaved by suicide. Additionally, a national review of suicide bereavement supports in Ireland found variation in services regionally, as well as gaps in the provision of evidence-based, specialised and standardised supports and interventions.

Since 2006, the HSE Bereavement Counselling Service for Traumatic Deaths in South East Community Healthcare (SECH) has provided counselling support to people bereaved by suicide and other sudden traumatic deaths, including homicide, road traffic accidents, industrial, domestic and agricultural accidents and drowning. This service facilitates health professionals to refer individuals, aged 16 years and over, to therapeutic counselling from trained Counsellors working in the healthcare area. This is the first independent review of the service.

• See page 24, Table 4.5. Type of bereavement of individuals referred to service (includes 'overdose' figure)
• See page 29, Figure 5.1. Concerns of traumatically bereaved patients identified by referrers (includes 'substance abuse' - percentage of referrers) 
• See page 33, Figure 5.4. Primary concerns of clients reported to Counsellors (includes 'substance abuse' - percentage of respondents)