Silent Ripples: Understanding the Impact of Student Suicide on University Counsellors

Paula Diab; Katrina Andrews; Alexandra Metse

doi:10.1080/0312407X.2026.2648241

Back

Silent Ripples: Understanding the Impact of Student Suicide on University Counsellors

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Silent Ripples: Understanding the Impact of Student Suicide on University Counsellors

Paula Diab, Katrina Andrews and Alexandra Metse

Australian Social Work, Vol.Advanced access

30-Apr-2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2026.2648241

Files and links (1)

pdf

Silent Ripples Understanding the Impact of Student Suicide on University Counsellors1.32 MBDownload View

Published Version (Advanced Access) Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

Mental health services

Health and community services

Mental health services

higher education

counsellors

student suicide

support needs

suicide postvention

social work

lived experience

wellbeing

policy

Counsellors working in higher education settings can be the first to respond to student suicide events, which carry profound personal and professional impacts, including emotional distress and long-term wellbeing concerns. Without adequate support, counsellors face increased risk of harm. This study explored the lived experience of counsellors following a student suicide and identified key elements of effective postvention support. A qualitative design was employed, using reflexive thematic analysis to analyse open-ended survey responses and content analysis to summarise descriptive data. Findings reveal intricate, multifaceted impacts, evolving needs and the importance of supportive leadership, supervision, shared reflection, and involvement in postvention planning to strengthen resilience and institutional capacity.

Details

Title: Silent Ripples: Understanding the Impact of Student Suicide on University Counsellors
Authors: Paula Diab (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Katrina Andrews (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Alexandra Metse (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Australian Social Work, Vol.Advanced access
Publisher: Routledge
DOI: 10.1080/0312407X.2026.2648241
ISSN: 1447-0748
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Grants: Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship, RTP, Department of Education (Australia, Canberra)
Organisation Unit: Cancer Research Cluster; School of Law and Society
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991227130502621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

1 Record Views