Principles of Postvention: Applications to Suicide and Trauma in Schools

The authors define such concepts as posttraumatic stress, suicide, & postvention and then, from the classical & current literature as well as their experience in schools & communities, explicate some basic guiding principles. These principles are presented as heuristic; there is no “cookbook” to address the complexity of traumatic, including suicidal, effects. It is concluded that there have been past errors in the field & that strong efforts are needed in evaluation and research. (121 refs.)