Postvention for African American Families Following a Loved One’s Suicide

This article provides information about suicide in the African American community, suicide & families, & suicide interventions, particularly those with a family focus. A culturally informed postvention model, Healing and Understanding Grieving Suicide Survivors (HUGSS), is presented. The article provides a discussion of the rationale for a culturally informed postvention program for African American suicide survivors, a description of the program, its guiding theoretical framework, & details of the manualized 10-session protocol. Special considerations for child survivors are highlighted. Practice, research, & policy implications are offered. (58 refs.) JA