Suicide Postvention in Schools: The Role of the School Counselor

Abstract

Many school counselors may encounter the suicide of a student during their careers. In this article, the author discusses postvention planning in the event of student suicide. Specifically, the role of the school counselor in responding to school crises, including student suicide, is addressed. Basic statistics on adolescent suicide are presented, suicide postvention in schools is defined, and recommendations for implementation by school counselors are made. An outline of the steps involved in postvention planning and special considerations for managing suicide postvention in schools are provided. Lastly, school counselors are encouraged to design and implement evaluation procedures to determine the effectiveness of postevention planning and share these results as an advocacy effort for increased suicide prevention and postvention awareness.