1Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland; 2University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
The workshop will explore the temporary loss of trust in the bond with loved one after a family member’s suicide. We will work with video recorded segments of family therapy sessions after suicide of a family member. Video recordings and transcripts based on them will be examined using the methods of conversation analysis, which is a qualitative approach to the study of social interaction. Attachment bonds and the resultant continuing bonds in grief are the invisible “strings” that motivate us to seek out our loved ones. Data analysis in our workshop will explore the ways in which the recurring “why question” is a form of seeking a connection with a loved one after their suicide, a retrospective effort to reach the mind of the deceased when the person was still alive. During the workshop, we will also look at how questions about accountability and blame relate to “why questions” and the interactive contexts in which these questions appear. Given that with attachment, people have access to help at the times when it is needed most, we will investigate whether the suicide of a loved one calls into question the conviction that caregiving was appropriate. Using the video-recorded data, the workshop will engage the participants in an analysis of “why questions”, expressions of guilt, and therapeutic interventions. The workshop is intended for researchers and clinicians interested in an attachment perspective on grieving processes and/or conversation-analytical methods.
