The Whole Wound: Suicide Prevention, Postvention, and Systemic Impact

Suicide prevention in clinical practice often focuses intensely on acute crisis management and individual risk assessment. However, the systemic impact of suicide—spanning from the neurobiology of an acute crisis to the complex grief experienced by loss survivors and providers—requires a broader, more integrated therapeutic approach. This 90-minute interactive workshop equips mental health professionals and organizational leaders with the comprehensive tools needed to navigate both the prevention of suicide and the critical aftermath of a loss. Moving beyond the limitations of standard risk assessment checklists, the session first guides clinicians in developing collaborative clinical formulations and sustainable safety plans. Next, drawing upon the framework of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Resource and Healing Guide, the workshop explores "postvention as prevention." Through targeted case study analysis, participants will examine the unique contours of suicide bereavement, the indicators of complicated grief, and the profound ripple effect a loss has on systems. The workshop concludes with an open strategy discussion addressing the unspoken challenges of clinical work, including navigating professional liability, fears, managing secondary traumatic stress, and building robust support systems.