BIBLIOTHERAPY IN SUICIDE BEREAVEMENT

INFORMATION AND POSTVENTION

Authors

Keywords:

grief, suicide, bibliotherapy, information professionals

Abstract

Grief resulting from suicide presents characteristics that distinguish it from other forms of loss, being marked by complex and intense feelings such as guilt, helplessness, anger, incomprehension, and the search for meaning. This study discusses the particularities of this type of grief, emphasizing its emotional and symbolic dimensions, as well as the contributions of bibliotherapy in this process. Grounded in interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, the study adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach. It is based on the understanding that suicide produces profound ruptures in the narrative continuity of individuals, creating gaps in understanding that hinder the grieving process and foster feelings of isolation and silencing. In this context, bibliotherapy emerges as a practice of welcoming and care, capable of fostering processes of recognition, naming, and reconstruction of meanings. It is concluded that, through information mediated with sensitivity, bibliotherapy can significantly contribute to postvention actions, supporting the elaboration of grief in contexts marked by social stigma and judgments directed toward survivors.

Author Biographies

  • Aline Machado Cruz, Federal University of Minas Gerais

    Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Program in Information Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (PPGCI-UFMG). Member of the Research Center for Information Resources, Services, and Praxis (NERSI-UFMG). Holds a Professional Master's degree in Administration from the Federal University of Bahia (2014), a Post-Graduate Specialization in Bibliotherapy and Literary Reading Mediation from Unochapecó (2024), a Post-Graduate Specialization in Inclusive Education from Faculdade de Tecnologia e Ciências (2010), and a Bachelor's degree in Library Science from the School of Information Science (ECI/UFMG, 2006). She currently serves as an Academic Librarian and Documentalist at the Federal University of the Vequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (UFVJM). She has expertise in Bibliotherapy, Information Literacy, and Information and Knowledge Management, and works as a Bibliotherapist utilizing meditation techniques.

  • Ana Paula Meneses Alves, Federal University of Minas Gerais

    Holds a Postdoctoral degree in Information Science from Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique. She earned her Ph.D. in Information Science from São Paulo State University (UNESP, Marília campus) under a joint-tutelage agreement (cotutelle) with the University of Granada (Spain), from which she was also awarded a Ph.D. in Social Sciences. Holds a Master's degree in Science, Technology, and Society from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) and a Bachelor's degree in Library Science from UNESP (Marília campus). She is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Information Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (ECI/UFMG), teaching in the undergraduate programs in Library Science and Museology and supervising in the Graduate Program in Information Science (Master's and Ph.D. levels). She conducts research, teaching, and extension projects on: Information Resources and Services (Information Literacy, Information Sources, Bibliographic Organization, Reference and Information Services); Ethical Use of Information (Ethical Aspects of Scientific Production, Academic Plagiarism); Information and Health (Role of Information Professionals in Health Scientific and Technological Information, Use and Teaching of Health Information Sources, Health Information Literacy, Health Misinformation, and Health and Memory); and Information and Social Emancipation (Social Justice, Information Justice, Racial Justice, Information Vulnerability, Information Poverty, and Information in Crises). She is the Lead Researcher of the Research Center for Information Resources, Services, and Praxis (NERSI-UFMG). She is a member of the Information Metrics Research Group at the University of São Paulo (USP - Ribeirão Preto) and the Oríkì-BiCi research group (Black-African, Afro-Diasporic, Anti-Racist, Intersectional, and Anti-Epistemicide Information Studies in the Amazon). She is a member of the Librarians Association of Minas Gerais (ABMG) and the Brazilian Federation of Librarians, Information Scientists, and Institutions (FEBAB), as well as a member of the National Association for Research and Graduate Studies in Information Science (ANCIB) and the Brazilian Health Literacy Network (REBRALS). She was the founding Coordinator of FEBAB's Working Group on Ethnic-Racial Relations and Decolonialities (2020–2021) and a member of FEBAB's Working Group on Information Literacy (2020–2021). She also served as Coordinator of the Center for African Studies at UFMG from September 2023 to September 2025.

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Published

2026-11-13

Conference Proceedings Volume

2026: XXVI ENCONTRO NACIONAL DE PESQUISA E PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIA DA INFORMAÇÃO

Section

GT 11 – Informação & Saúde

Categories