ZELIENOPLE — The grieving process after a friend or family member has committed suicide is often different from that following other types of death.

“It’s a complicated grief process, much different from if you’ve lost someone to cancer, or other causes,” said Jennifer Sikora, chairman for the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“People grieve in isolation. Others don’t really know how to talk with them and are afraid to ask questions.”

To help with this process, the foundation trains people to run support groups for those bereaved by a suicide.

The new Pittsburgh North Bereavement Group, which started meeting last fall, is the first such group to serve Cranberry Township, Zelienople and the surrounding areas. It meets at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month in St. Peter’s Reformed Church, 320 E. Grandview Ave.

Pastor Jim Bertoti and Colleen Sybert were trained by the foundation to be facilitators for the group.

Sybert said she and Bertoti first talked about starting the group seven years ago but didn’t make it a reality until they were able to go to the training, a two-day program in Harrisburg.

Sybert said she had a suicide in her family 10 years ago and saw a need in the community for a forum for people with similar experiences to talk.

Suicide and mental illness often carry a stigma that make others uncomfortable talking about them. One of the goals of the group is to work toward removing that stigma, she said.

“The more the people can talk about it, the more they can understand it,” she said.

What many people don’t realize is the role mental illness plays in many suicide cases, she said.

“I believe that most people in the right circumstances and in the right state of mind would not choose to take their own life,” she said.

The sessions typically involve an open discussion with no set program. People who lost a friend or family member in the past are encouraged to share their thoughts on what was helpful for them with people who have had a more recent loss.

There is a similar group in Butler, but there is not another group that serves the areas north of Pittsburgh. One participant drove to Zelienople from 30 miles away, Sybert said.

Despite its goal of helping people, the support group is not intended to be a substitute for professional counseling. At the church, people can get brochures connecting them to counseling services or help for those who may be contemplating suicide.

In 2014, the county had 24 suicides out of 177 deaths that went to the county coroner, according to the coroner’s office.

In 2013 there were 22 suicides out of 169 deaths, and in 2012 there were 19 suicides out of 172.

Suicide was the 10th top killer in the United States in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of 2000, 10.4 out of 100,000 people in the U. S. committed suicide.

In 2013, that rate has increased to 12.6. This increase has been attributed to a variety of factors including the number of soldiers who are sent to conflicts overseas and to cyber bullying, Sikora said.

She also said there is a lack of help and prevention programs for the elderly.

For information about the work of the foundation, visit afsp.org.