Counsellors' course on dealing with murder

The complex grief experienced by people who have lost loved ones to murder will be addressed at the first training course for counsellors of its kind in Ireland.

The eight-month course, which is being run by Advic - the support group for people affected by homicide, begins in Dublin in March. It will be on one Saturday per month.

Liam Neville, counsellor and co-founder of Advic, said there was a particular need for the course, "to equip counsellors with the skills in the complexities of homicide".

There were 53 murders and manslaughters in the 12 months to the end of September last year - an increase of 17 per cent on the previous year.

There were practical issues, such as how the Garda and the Director of Public Prosecution worked, as well as the particular impact of murder on a family, that counsellors should be aware of, said Mr Neville. To lose a loved one to murder is "just so complex", he said. "It is a specific type of trauma. The death is violent, sudden, unexpected."

Angela Driscoll, a counsellor with a specific skills in homicide bereavement, said there were pressures on families affected by murder - the intrusion of the media, interaction with the Garda and the DPP, as well as sometimes having to face the alleged perpetrator if they are released on bail.

And given that murder cases take about two years to come to trial, the bereaved person may hold the shock. It is often not until the case is over that the people are ready to properly begin grieving, says Ms Driscoll. The strain on a person waiting for the sense of closure to begin is "just awful", she says.

Contact Advic on 086-8370352