ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS ON SUICIDE BEREAVEMENT AND POSTVENTION

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based upon material published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public health and is available on MDPI an open access publisher of peer reviewed journals. Abstract: During the past decades public and research interest in postvention, i.e., support for families and communities after a suicide, has increased. However, the postvention field is still facing a number of important challenges and questions. This article aims to discuss a series of essential issues on suicide bereavement and postvention, regarding the current state of the art and future developments. Who is a suicide survivor and how many suicide survivors are there? Is suicide bereavement different from other types of bereavement? What are the needs of suicide survivors and what is postvention from a clinical perspective and from a public health perspective? Can postvention be prevention? With this last question, the article concludes with a series of recommendations in order to strengthen the potential of postvention as prevention. This course on suicide bereavement and postvention (intervention after an event) is practical for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, dieticians and chemical dependency counselors who work with clients and need continuing education. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of suicide bereavement. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical course credits and are interested in learning more about suicide bereavement and postvention. Authors: Andriessen and Krysinska Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding suicide bereavement and postvention. Specifically, a professional will: · Describe the difference between suicide bereavement and other types of bereavement · Identify essential issues in suicide bereavement and postvention · Distinguish interventions that may facilitation postvention into prevention for suicide Citation: Andriessen, K and Krysinska, K. (2012). Essential questions on suicide bereavement and postvention. the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. V 9 pp 24-32.