Abstract:

This article reports aspects of a study conducted in 2005 which explored the role of the church as a voluntary organisation, in deaths by Suicide in Highland. The study was explorative and consisted of interviewing ministers from the Christian Churches of different denominations in Highland about their own experiences as ministers of the Church, of death by suicide and what they understood to be the key aspects of their experiences that might contribute to thinking about how the Church could offer protection and solace. Two findings are highlighted here: the importance of multidisciplinary education involving ministers and the potential of parish nursing as a mechanism for connectedness.

Author: Harriet Mowat, John Swinton, Donald Mowat, Cameron Stark