[Psychological Interventions for People Bereaved by Suicide: A Systematic Review].

BACKGROUND

Suicide bereavement is a significant risk factor for psychological and somatic disorders. However, to date there exists only a limited number of suicide bereavement interventions, and little is known about their efficacy.

METHODS

A computerized search in databases such as PsychINFO, PubMed, Medline was conducted. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared an intervention for suicide bereaved to a control condition were included after a quality assessment of two independent researchers. In total, six studies with  = 473 participants were included. Cohen's was used to calculate the effect sizes.

RESULTS

The results indicated small to medium effect sizes for within-group differences for the main outcomes in the intervention condition, while no significant between-group differences were revealed.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions for suicide bereavement can reduce mental health symptoms, however the results do not appear robust between group comparisons. Thus, it could not be demonstrated that an intervention following the suicide of a close relative is more effective than no intervention or an unspecific intervention. Future research should focus on high-quality intervention studies.