Confidential Grief: How Counselors Cope with Client Suicide

Lena Salpietro, PhD, LPCC, NCC, is an assistant professor in Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences at Kent State University. She earned her PhD in Counselor Education and MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Toledo. Her clinical experience spans community mental health agencies, college counseling centers, and private practice, including work with survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. She also has experience supporting adolescents and adults experiencing depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, low self-esteem, and life transitions. Her research focuses on gatekeeping and remediation in counselor education, LGBTQ+ health and counseling experiences, and counselor grief following client suicide. She received the 2024 Research in Counselor Education and Supervision Award.

Clark D. Ausloos, PhD (he/him), is core faculty in the Counseling Program at Oakland University, where he leverages his extensive experience working with LGBTQ+ youth in clinical and school settings. He holds an MA in School and Clinical Mental Health Counseling and maintains professional licensure in Ohio and Michigan. Clark's dedication to queer and trans youth and their families is reflected in his extensive scholarly work, which includes more than 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters, as well as over 60 conference presentations. In 2023, he was named the UNC Charlotte Robert Barret Distinguished Lecturer on Multicultural Issues in Counseling. His contributions to the counseling profession have earned him numerous accolades, including the Ohio Counselor of the Year Award (2020), the Professional Integrity and Leadership Award from OASERVIC (2020), the Ned Farley Service Award from SAIGE (2023), and the SAIGE Presidential Award (2024).Clark provides consultation to numerous organizations, including the Court-Appointed Special Advocates of Clermont County, Ohio; the Northwest Ohio Family Resource Center; the Ohio State 988 Operators; Columbus Public Health; the Hunt Institute; and Rutgers University. He serves on the Sensitivity and Bias Review Committee and contributes as a content expert and item writer for the National Counselor Examination (NCE).His professional affiliations include active membership in the American Counseling Association (ACA), National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC), Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE), Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (ACAC), and Association for Counselors and Counselor Educators in Social Justice (ACSSW).

Madeline Clark, PhD, LPCC-S (OH), LPC (VA), NCC, ACS, is an associate professor in the Department of Counselor Education, School Psychology, and Human Services at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She earned her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision and her MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Old Dominion University, with doctoral cognates in qualitative research and educational research methodology. Madeline's scholarship focuses on poverty and social class in counseling, multicultural counseling competence, counselor preparation, professional competence, and inclusive learning environments. She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, delivered numerous scholarly presentations, and published two books. Her professional leadership includes serving as president of the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) and as the 2026–2027 president of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES).

Rosalyn Zacarias, MS, LMHC, CST, is a Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified Sex Therapist at the Jacksonville Center for Sexual Health. She earned her Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of North Florida and completed additional training in mental health sexology. Rosalyn's clinical work focuses on sex therapy, identity exploration, anxiety, depression, life transitions, and relationship concerns, with particular interests in serving LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and couples. Her research has examined sexual curiosity among bisexual women, lesbian and bisexual women's perspectives on marriage and family, reproductive rights, and counselor grief following client suicide.

Jacob Perez, MS, is a doctoral student in the combined Counseling Psychology and School Psychology program at Florida State University, where he is also a member of the Career Development and Technology Research Team. He earned his Master of Science from the University of North Florida's Brooks College of Health. Jacob's research interests include multicultural counseling competence, LGBTQ+ counseling and advocacy, counselor grief following client suicide, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ students of color. His scholarship has appeared in the Journal of Counseling & Development and the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools.