Postvention & Survivor Support Flashcards

In workplace postvention following an employee's suicide, which step is recommended FIRST for the organization's leadership?

Answer: Notify employees with factual, compassionate communication and provide resource referrals

Timely, accurate, and compassionate notification to employees, paired with resource referrals, is the recommended first step in workplace postvention.

Which grief model describes the survivor's oscillation between loss-orientation (focusing on grief) and restoration-orientation (focusing on rebuilding) as adaptive?

Answer: Dual Process Model (Stroebe & Schut)

The Dual Process Model by Stroebe and Schut posits that healthy bereavement involves alternating between confronting grief and focusing on life adjustments.

A postvention counselor working with a child who lost a parent to suicide should PRIMARILY tailor communication by:

Answer: Using developmentally appropriate language and concrete explanations

Children require age-appropriate, honest, and concrete language about death to understand the loss and begin healthy grieving.

Which factor has research identified as INCREASING risk for suicidal ideation among survivors of suicide loss compared to survivors of other types of loss?

Answer: Exposure to the method used in the suicide

Survivors exposed to the method of death (e.g., witnessing or discovering the scene) have elevated risk for their own suicidal ideation compared to other bereaved individuals.

The 'loss of assumptive world' concept, particularly relevant to suicide bereavement, refers to:

Answer: The shattering of fundamental beliefs about safety, meaning, and predictability

Suicide loss can shatter survivors' core assumptions about the world being safe and predictable, a concept central to trauma and grief literature.

Which of the following is a key distinguishing feature of suicide bereavement compared to bereavement after natural death?

Answer: Greater social stigma and social withdrawal among survivors

Suicide bereavement is uniquely associated with social stigma, which often causes survivors to withdraw and delay seeking support.

After a suicide in a correctional facility, postvention obligations include all of the following EXCEPT:

Answer: Permanently removing all other inmates from contact with staff

Removing all inmates from staff contact is not a standard postvention protocol; the focus is on staff support, inmate mental health, and protocol review.