Postvention: A Guide for Response to Suicide on College Campuses

Postvention: A Guide for Response to Suicide on College Campuses, created by the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA), provides guidance for colleges and universities for responding to a suicide on campus. The Guide is meant to be both a training tool (to be used in preparing a campus response) and a resource when responding to a current suicide. The Guide provides advice on managing communication, clinical response, coordination among stakeholders, and the process of moving the campus back to normal function.

To create the Guide, literature on suicide postvention in college settings was reviewed and consolidated. Input from leading college mental health and campus suicide prevention experts was gathered as well. The document reflects consensus from all the HEMHA partner organizations and a panel of advisors.

Objectives

Administrators and other campus officials who use the Guide will have:

1. Greater knowledge of expert recommendations for responding to a suicide in the campus community
2. Access to tools and resources that will help plan and organize the response to a suicide in the campus community

Implementation Essential: In the aftermath of a suicide, it is important that campus administrators collaborate with practitioners and the greater campus communityto develop a coordinated response to the death.