Unimaginable pain

dealing with suicide in the workplace

Beate von Devivere

pp. 259-264

in: Alexander Batthyány (ed), Logotherapy and existential analysis, Berlin, Springer, 2016

Abstract

Most people who die by suicide around the globe are of working age, but very few suicide prevention programs target the workplace as a venue for suicide prevention. The workplace, however, could provide many opportunities for suicide prevention that have not yet been realized.As a quote on the website of SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) points out, "a single person can make a difference. As a community, we can shape the future. Together, we"ll be saving more lives".From the perspective of the social counselor, this article discusses potential opportunities for employee assistance and counseling in the workplace. In the context of dealing with suicide in the workplace, a compilation of some state-of-the-art information about dealing with this extreme situation is presented here.