What is Suicide Postvention?
Suicide Postvention is a term that was first coined by Edwin Shneidman, which he used to describe "appropriate and helpful acts that come after a dire event."
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Suicide postvention is a process that has the objective of alleviating the effects of stress and helping those left behind - called suicide loss survivors - to cope with the loss they have just experienced.
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Research shows suicide loss survivors are at a higher risk of suicide themselves.
What is a LOSS Team?
LOSS – Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors – is an active suicide postvention model. This model involves two or more trained volunteers, called a LOSS Team, who proactively go to the scene of a suicide to provide immediate support to those left behind. At least one of these two trained volunteers is a survivor of a suicide loss.
The LOSS Team model was originally created by Dr. Frank Campbell at the Baton Rouge Crisis and Trauma Center in 1998. Dr. Campbell identified that it was taking loss survivors an average of more than four years before they reached out for support.
A LOSS Team at the scene of a suicide provides loss survivors with practical support and a connection to resources. But, most importantly, they provide an instillation of hope.