Table 6.
Postvention service delivery according to level of impact of suicide.
| Level of postventive interventions according to actions recommended in guidelines | Responding to grief, trauma, and distress after a suicide: U.S. national guidelines Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force (2015) | Support after a suicide: A guide to providing local services: A practice resourcePublic Health England (2016)a | Postvention Australia guidelines: A resource for organizations and individuals providing services to people bereaved by suicide Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (2017) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated interventions for people with mental health problems and disordered grief | Indicated interventions: evidence-based treatments, communication between service providers | In-depth therapy, one-to-one psychological help provided by qualified practitioners | Psychotherapy | Surveillance, research and evaluation |
| Selective intervention for people with severe grief reactions, strongly impacted | Implementation of guidelines, training of service providers, availability of services | Therapeutic/psychoeducational, one-to-one support, and facilitated “closed” groups provided by qualified practitioners and trained facilitators | Counseling | |
| Selective interventions for people with moderate grief reactions, mildly impacted | Self-help, peer support, “open” groups, and remembrance events organized by voluntary and peer groups | Support services, support groups, self-help groups, helplines, community and educational support | ||
| Universal interventions for people with low levels of grief, little impact of suicide | Information and awareness of postvention in general public, professionals and organizations | Information on grief and bereavement by suicide and signposting to sources of support by local or national organizations | Information including leaflets, books, booklets, factsheets, posters and online information |
a
Two resources “Support after a suicide: Developing and delivering local bereavement support services” (http://www.nspa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/NSPA-postvention-framework-20.10.16.pdf) and “Support after a suicide: Evaluating local bereavement support services” (http://www.nspa.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/NSPA-postvention-evaluation-24.10.16.pdf) complement the guideline.