ABSTRACT
The term postvention was coined by Edwin Shneidman (1972), the founder of contemporary suicidology, to describe planned interventions with those affected by a suicide death that would facilitate the grieving process. Over the last several decades, others have expanded the goals of postvention to include stabilizing the environment and reducing the risk of negative behaviors, most notably the risk of contagion (Brock, 2002, 2003; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1988; Kerr, Brent, McKain, & McCommons, 2003; Poland, 2003; Underwood & Dunne-Maxim, 1997).
