{"id":35356,"date":"2025-03-13T18:58:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T18:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/?p=35356"},"modified":"2025-03-13T18:58:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T18:58:27","slug":"jeds-approach-to-postvention-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/jeds-approach-to-postvention-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating Grief and Building Resilience: JED\u2019s Approach to Postvention Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-35357 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/andrej-lisakov-AmCvGk6Wg-o-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A group of adults sit on chairs in a circle in a library, engaging in a deep conversation.\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/andrej-lisakov-AmCvGk6Wg-o-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/andrej-lisakov-AmCvGk6Wg-o-unsplash-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/andrej-lisakov-AmCvGk6Wg-o-unsplash-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/andrej-lisakov-AmCvGk6Wg-o-unsplash-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/andrej-lisakov-AmCvGk6Wg-o-unsplash-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The loss of a student to suicide impacts every part of a campus community, especially families and those close to their loved one, including classmates, friends, and professional staff. For a college campus of 20,000 students, the stark reality is that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/jedfoundation-org-postvention-housing-guidebook\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an average of two to three lives<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may be lost to suicide each year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though postvention is defined as an \u201corganized response\u201d in the aftermath of a suicide, it\u2019s also considered to be a core feature of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention.\u00a0 In essence, postvention is prevention. That is why JED has developed robust postvention consulting practices, designed to guide schools through the healing process and fortify their support systems to reduce the risk of future loss. JED\u2019s postvention work provides guidance and actionable planning in three core areas: grief support for the school community after a loss, addressing the most common mental health impairments after a suicide, and seeking to reduce the risk of further suicide loss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about JED\u2019s approach to postvention from Dr. Kurt Michael, JED\u2019s Senior Clinical Director, who leads this important work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What happens after a school loses a student to suicide? <\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a school calls us after losing a student, they\u2019re understandably overwhelmed and terrified it may happen again. We\u2019re there to help schools answer some of the toughest questions: How will they support their students? What will they say to parents? How will they help their community heal while reducing the risk of suicide more broadly? Our team provides guidance to administrators, residence life staff, faculty, and mental health providers to ensure everyone has the support they need, including help for helpers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What makes JED\u2019s approach effective? <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protecting youth mental health and preventing suicide takes more than responding to a loss \u2014 it takes a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/our-approach\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">comprehensive approach<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> like JED\u2019s. It takes a culture of care in which students feel supported and suicide prevention becomes an expected part of their lives. That means teaching students the skills to better manage life\u2019s ups and downs, creating school communities in which students feel connected to each other, showing staff how to spot when a student may be struggling, and making sure help is accessible when needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How long does JED stay involved? <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We stay connected long after the immediate loss, helping schools evaluate and strengthen their mental health safety nets to protect their students in the long run. We ensure the proper supports are in place so each community can continue processing their grief, promoting help-seeking, and integrating postvention programming into their broader systems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Is there a moment that illustrates the importance of this work? <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just sitting with people who have experienced devastating loss. Sometimes the most powerful thing we do is show up, listen, and show up again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/jedfoundation.org\/jed-postvention-consulting-services-for-schools-and-campuses\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JED\u2019s postvention consulting services<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help your school or campus community heal after a loss and strengthen mental health support systems.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The loss of a student to suicide impacts every part of a campus community, especially families and those close to their loved one, including classmates, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":35357,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[168],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Help After a Student Suicide: JED&#039;s Approach to Postvention | The Jed Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"JED provides grief support for school communities after loss, addresses common mental health impairments after a suicide, and reduces risk of further loss.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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