After a Suicide
the first step in continued prevention
Suicide postvention involves predetermined strategies to effectively and sensitively respond to deaths after they occur. It is an intervention that attends to the needs of those requiring assistance after someone dies by suicide.
It does this by:
- Helping people grieve;
- Stabilizing the environment;
- Reducing the risks of negative behaviours;
- Limiting risk of further suicides through contagion; and
- Starting to restore the regular routine after a death.
In our continued efforts to improve our postvention responses, Suicide Prevention Ottawa and CMHA Ottawa engaged Algonquin College to lead an environmental scan about the needs relating to our community’s response to tragic events. Read the report at the link below.
Information for Individuals
Information for individuals can be found on our crisis page. Please visit the link below.
Information for Organizations
- Crisis intervention;
- Bereavement counselling,
- Education;
- Communication; and
- Identification and support of people at risk of suicide.
Planning and implementation of postvention efforts should include an interdisciplinary team of administrators, practitioners from various areas of an organization, as well as community members and partners. To learn more, explore our Postvention Toolkit.