What is postvention?

October 29, 2019

Here at Postvention Australia, one of our goals is to shed light on postvention and how suicide may affect those within our community.

So what is postvention?

Postvention, by its definition, is the support conducted after the loss of a loved one from suicide. This includes counselling (including suicide grief-specific counselling), support groups, support from family and friends, and many more. Postvention directly supports those who affected by a suicide, as people bereaved through suicide are up to eight times more likely to take their life than the general population.

We envision a community that responds to all those bereaved by suicide with practical and unconditional compassionate care and understanding. Our mission is to represent the challenges, rights and interests of all those bereaved by suicide. Postvention Australia aims to achieve this by:

Making clear pathways to support all those affected by a suicide death.
Promoting best practice information, education and research about suicide postvention in the public arena.
Assisting individuals, communities, volunteers, service providers, educators, researchers, media and government and other bodies to support those bereaved through the provision of information, networking and education.
Creating cultural change in de-stigmatising suicide death and raising public awareness of ways to support the bereaved.

We believe in creating a community of care in order to assist and support those who are in need. Whether you have been bereaved by suicide, or know someone affected by a tragic loss, we all have a part to play. Please check out our handout below to see how you can do your part in supporting your bereaved friend, or strategies on how to cope with the grief of losing a loved one to suicide. To show your support for Postvention Australia and to assist those within your community, we encourage you to utilise our online resources and donate to our cause.

Handout – Suicide Bereaved and Friends of Bereaved