A death by suicide can have a devastating impact on a community or organization. The shock and grief can ripple throughout the community, affecting friends, coworkers, schools, and faith communities. Connect Postvention training helps service providers respond in a coordinated and comprehensive way in the aftermath of a death by suicide or any sudden death. Additionally, since knowing someone who has died by suicide is one of the highest risk factors for suicide, postvention becomes an integral part of suicide prevention efforts.
In partnership with the Virginia Department of Health, Full Circle Grief Center is proud to offer this Nationally Designated Best Practice Program, Connect Postvention, that assists communities on how to coordinate a comprehensive and safe response after a loss by suicide.
Our Connect Postvention certified trainers, (L to R) Susan Patch, Kerri Björkholm, Laura McDonald, Allyson England Drake, Casey Kelahan, and Jen Gerlach.
Goals
Goals of the training include helping communities with:
- Review of the complexity of suicide-related grief, especially for different age groups
- Recommendations for funerals and memorial services
- Suggestions on how to talk to survivors of suicide loss to promote their healing
- Best practices for safe messaging about suicide and responding to the media
- Strategies for reducing the risk of contagion
- Identification of community resources to promote healing
Modality
This training can be offered in-person by Full Circle clinicians, and requires either 4 or 8 hours (approximately one full business day, or one half-day) of dedicated staff time to cover material.
About Connect
The Connect Program is part of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Hampshire. Connect is a collaborative program established in 2004 through partnerships between The Suicide Prevention Partnership, The Irving and Barbara C. Gutin Charitable Foundation, and NAMI New Hampshire. Initially developed as the Frameworks Youth Suicide Prevention Project, Connect now focuses on a comprehensive approach to preventing and intervening in suicide across the lifespan.
Contact Information
For more information on how to bring a Connect Postvention training to your school, business, organization, or community, please contact Kerri Björkholm, Care Coordinator, at kerri.bjorkholm@fullcirclegc.org or 804-912-2947 ext. 116.
Full Circle Grief Center 