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3 Intuition, Imagination and Innovation in Suicidology Conference Turning a Personal Tragedy Into a Triumph:
Grief and Growth Among Suicide-Loss
Survivors
Invited lecture · Yossi Levi-Belz
Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz is a clinical psychologist and clinical scientist, working at The
Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide and Mental Pain Studies, Ruppin Academic Cen-
ter, Israel. He is interested in the psychological mechanisms that can help us un-
derstand and prevent suicide in different at-risk populations (veterans, soldiers,
adolescents, ex-prisoners of war, medically serious suicide attempters, etc.). His
primary research topic includes moral injury, suicidal ideation and behaviour,
suicide-loss survivors, recovery and growth. Other research areas are interper-
sonal interaction in both real life and in therapy sessions, and attitudes of the
public toward psychotherapy. He merges clinical, social, and research work and
considers the integration of these three aspects as the central value of his work.
Abstract. Bereavement after suicide is an acute and painful phenomenon.
The consequences of suicide on family members and close friends are broad,
and include prolonged grief symptoms, guilt, shame, loneliness and much
more. On the other hand, traumatic events may also be an engine for positi-
ve psychological changes and growth. In the upcoming lecture we will try to
shed a light on the complex psychological journey of family members who
have lost a loved one to suicide; we will delve deeper into a series of studies
that present the deleterious consequences of suicide alongside the possibili-
ty of post-traumatic growth in the aftermath of suicide loss. In particular, we
will focus on the series of longitudinal studies we conducted in Israel which
highlights the factors that moderate the experiences of loss and may facili-
tate psychological changes and growth among suicide-loss survivors.
14 https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-251-0.5
Grief and Growth Among Suicide-Loss
Survivors
Invited lecture · Yossi Levi-Belz
Prof. Yossi Levi-Belz is a clinical psychologist and clinical scientist, working at The
Lior Tsfaty Center for Suicide and Mental Pain Studies, Ruppin Academic Cen-
ter, Israel. He is interested in the psychological mechanisms that can help us un-
derstand and prevent suicide in different at-risk populations (veterans, soldiers,
adolescents, ex-prisoners of war, medically serious suicide attempters, etc.). His
primary research topic includes moral injury, suicidal ideation and behaviour,
suicide-loss survivors, recovery and growth. Other research areas are interper-
sonal interaction in both real life and in therapy sessions, and attitudes of the
public toward psychotherapy. He merges clinical, social, and research work and
considers the integration of these three aspects as the central value of his work.
Abstract. Bereavement after suicide is an acute and painful phenomenon.
The consequences of suicide on family members and close friends are broad,
and include prolonged grief symptoms, guilt, shame, loneliness and much
more. On the other hand, traumatic events may also be an engine for positi-
ve psychological changes and growth. In the upcoming lecture we will try to
shed a light on the complex psychological journey of family members who
have lost a loved one to suicide; we will delve deeper into a series of studies
that present the deleterious consequences of suicide alongside the possibili-
ty of post-traumatic growth in the aftermath of suicide loss. In particular, we
will focus on the series of longitudinal studies we conducted in Israel which
highlights the factors that moderate the experiences of loss and may facili-
tate psychological changes and growth among suicide-loss survivors.
14 https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-251-0.5
