Educational Signature Series Community Presentation: Exploring Guilt in Suicide Bereavement by Rebecca Sanford – February 2026

This gathering is for bereaved individuals or those supporting bereaved individuals who have been impacted by suicide loss.

After a suicide death, people left behind commonly question what they did or didn’t do, what was said or left unsaid, and what they might have missed. In retracing the steps and trying to make sense of what has happened, many people who have lost someone to suicide experience feelings of responsibility and guilt. And sometimes guilt can become a catchall word for any negative feelings one has about themselves as it relates to the loss.

This presentation is intended to support people who have lost someone to suicide and are experiencing guilt related to the loss. The presentation offers an opportunity to expand your understanding of guilt and reconsider your relationship to it.

In this presentation, we will explore:

• What guilt is and is not
• Thoughts and feelings involved in guilt
• Common sources of guilt in suicide bereavement
• The impact of guilt on the grief process
• Questions, prompts, and activities to support exploration of guilt in the service of healing

Cost: $15.  Registration Required.

About the Presenter:

Rebecca L. Sanford, PhD, RCSW, RCC is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and Human Service at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, where she also maintains a counselling practice specializing in working with people who are impacted by suicide as well as people who work in the helping professions. Rebecca provides individual and group interventions for traumatic bereavement, and she is involved in community outreach efforts to promote awareness of suicide and to support people impacted by suicide. She conducts research to further our understanding of the impact of exposure to suicide, the suicide bereavement trajectory, interventions for people who are bereaved or otherwise impacted by suicide, and training for helping professionals on responding to suicide.