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Postvention Program Overview
“Postvention” is a term used for supportive interventions that occur with bereaved families and friends (“survivors of suicide”) following a suicide of a loved one.
When a suicide occurs in a community, countless people may be impacted. Family members and loved ones often struggle for years with a sense of grief that is further burdened with other complicated emotions and questions.
But many other community members also can be impacted by the traumatic loss: neighbors, co-workers, emergency rescue personnel, mental health professionals, law enforcement, clergy, and any other witnesses to the scene. The consequences of unresolved traumatic grief can be lifelong and devastating, both personally and professionally. Research shows that survivors of suicide are themselves at increased risk of engage in suicidal behavior.
Postvention helps survivors cope with the many complicated, difficult feelings that naturally occur following such a sudden, catastrophic loss. An active suicide postvention program that addresses the needs of all individuals who have been impacted by suicide is an essential component of any community’s suicide prevention activities, and can help stem the tragic tide of future loss. Postvention has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a method used for preventing cluster suicides among youth exposed to the suicide of a peer. Postvention approaches have been employed by police departments and crisis outreach teams in cities around the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.
As a former president of the American Association for Suicidology has said...
"Postvention is prevention for the next generation."
Postvention Program Components
CrisisLink's Tara Sirmans Survivor HOPE Program (Help & Outreach for Prevention & Education) was launched in September 2006. (Information about the Hope Program launch.)
The HOPE Program has four components: