When someone dies by suicide, the effect on those touched by it can be immediate and traumatic. Research shows that planning ahead can ease grieving, promote a smoother adjustment and prevent contagion.
There is consensus among practitioners about effective ways to respond to a death by suicide. Drawing on this and designed for organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors, Suicide Prevention Ottawa (SPO) reviews what to do when a child/youth/young adult dies by suicide. The information and videos on this website are meant as a support and complement to existing policies and procedures.
What is contagion?
Research has identified a phenomenon known as suicide "contagion". This phenomenon speaks to the idea that an individual who has pre-existing thoughts of suicide is exposed to - or - learns about a suicide, may increase their likelihood of acting on their suicidality. For example, if an individual who already has pre-existing suicidal thoughts sees or hears of a friend, loved one or idol takes their life by suicide, this may increase their likelihood of acting on their own suicidal thoughts as well. Planning ahead can help reduce the risk of contagion, start the conversation with your loved ones, learn about how they have been impacted and be prepared to support.
What is a postvention response?
A postvention response aims to restore routine after a suicide. To do this, deliver a combination of the following activities:
Assist the community to identify needs
Build on natural supports and protective factors
Provide or refer to, crisis, psychological or psychosocial supports and
Provide other forms of assistance to help people begin to heal
To prevent contagion, it is important to be intentional at every step in this process. Be thoughtful about who delivers information and how it is communicated. Ideally, people should have previous experience in leading a postvention response and strong relationships with those they are supporting. Seek support from a mental health organization in this phase if needed.
Throughout your postvention response, consider all those who may be affected, what their needs are and who has the experience, skills and relationships to deliver support. This includes considering who can support the employees in the organization that is coordinating the postvention response.
Suicide postvention video
Pre-crisis planning
This pre-crisis planning is important because in the aftermath of a suicide, when emotions and tensions are high, it is very difficult to respond without having guidelines or plans in place.
Having said this, it is important to identify individuals responsible for postvention planning and implementation before a suicide occurs.
Various departments, different employees and community organizations will be responsible for deploying aspects of the postvention plan. Postvention planning should emphasize the importance of interagency communication and coordination.
Questions to consider in developing your postvention plan
Who should be in the organization’s emergency response team? Who can make decisions in the moment? Who can make time at a moment’s notice to participate?
What training would be needed in order to be successful in this role? Where can we access this training?
What information do the various aspects of your organization need to know about our postvention plan in advance? What is the best way to share information?
How do you hear about and track suicides?
What support resources do you have?
How might they be coordinated as part of a unified response?
What postvention protocols are you currently using? For example: Do you have a media communication strategy that you use in the event of a suicide? Do you have a protocol for identifying at-risk students after a suicide?
What are some practical considerations to address? For example, for residential services, who packs up a deceased person’s room?
Check-in with your staff about how the current response to student death/suicide is working through a review process. Where were the gaps? What were the challenges?
As a service provider, you may be the person at your organization responsible for contacting the parent(s) and/or guardians of a child/youth/young adult that has died by suicide.
Before the call
Ascertain if other organizations have made a call already. Perhaps through communications with the Victim Crisis Unit of Ottawa Police Services/the school board/other organizations.
Ensure that the family does not receive several calls from organizations.
When making the call
Offer condolences
Ascertain What other children/youth/young adults need to be informed?
During the call
Explain the reason for your call
Enquire about which groups or individuals may also be impacted (e.g., hockey team, place of employment, extended family, etc.)
What other children may be impacted by the news of your child’s death? Was your child involved in any recreational, social groups that will need to be informed?
Obtain consent
Ask how would you like these groups of children/youth/young adults to get the information?
Do you want us to make calls to the various organizations on your behalf?
How do you want us to refer to the death of your child? Should we simply say they died, or can we say they died by suicide?
Help navigate/advise about next steps
Provide advice about how to let other children know (friends, cousins, siblings).
Be clear about what you can and can not offer ("while I can’t offer a counselling service, I can call you back once to follow-up if that could be helpful?", etc.).
Offer to support them to navigate services ("I can help you figure out the steps to letting people know, and to accessing supports and counselling for you and your family").
Postvention checklist
Immediate response
Notify: call ambulance and police.
Contain the crisis: ensure immediate safety. Provide first aid, move people away from the area and, without disturbing the scene for the police investigation, erect visual barriers to block it from view.
Identify the natural supports for those who could be at risk (victims/witnesses/family/friends/employees/the community at large).
Support people to get the information/resources/referrals they need so they don’t feel alone.
The first 24 hours
Convene: bring your organization’s emergency response team together.
Connect with bereaved: If, through your communications with the Victim Crisis Unit of Ottawa Police Services/the school board/other organizations, it is determined that your organization should contact the family:
Express condolences
Explain the reason for your call
Offer support
Enquire about which stakeholders may also be impacted (e.g., hockey team, place of employment, etc.) and
Ascertain how to refer to the death
Inform children/youth/young adults/families: This requires intention, caution and care. A script can be helpful. Provide the message to small groups of people. All children/youth/young adults should get a consistent message. Do not describe the method of suicide. If it is the family’s wishes, do not refer to the death as a suicide. In this case, provide a more general statement such as “a member of our ________ (club/community/team) has died”.
Identify and support children/youth/young adults/employees who may be affected by the death. Refer and reach out to mental health organizations that can support with this phase.
Respond to media requests: Members of the media may be in contact to learn more about the death. Prior to responding, determine if other organizations are already speaking to the media. It is important to coordinate the postvention media response in order to avoid duplication or the provision of mixed messages. If your organization speaks to the media, ensure the spokesperson follows these evidence informed practices.
Monitor social media: A deceased person’s social media profile may be a central point of memorialization and rumors. Encourage people to consider the feelings of the loved ones in their posts and ask them to encourage others to do the same. Children/youth/young adults should not be asked to monitor social media, but they should know what are harmful messages and who to contact if concerned about a post.
The first week
Monitor and support: in collaboration with mental health agencies, continue to support those that may be affected.
If relevant, plan your organization’s involvement in the funeral, such as providing resources at the funeral home.
Longer term
Monitor and support: continue to support and monitor children/youth/young adults/families/employees and make referrals as needed.
Honour: Consider planning for anniversaries, birthdays and other significant events. See the best practices for how to promote safety when honouring a suicide death.
Orient: include the postvention response plan as an item to review as part of your organization’s employee orientation process.
Helping organizations respond after a suicide loss
An important element of any efforts to prevent suicide is to respond effectively in the event of a suicide death. We call this response postvention and it is the first step in continued prevention. Suicide postvention involves predetermined strategies to effectively and sensitively respond to deaths after they occur. It is an intervention that attends to the needs of those requiring assistance after someone dies by suicide. See these resources for organizations leading a postvention response:
The way a story of suicide is reported in the media can have a big impact on those who are struggling with thoughts and feelings of suicide.
The Canadian Psychiatric Association has released a policy paper advising on how to speak to the media about a suicide loss. In it, they recommend that journalists follow the following best practices:
Weigh the story’s newsworthiness and the public’s need to be informed with potential harm related to contagion. Be familiar with your organizational guidelines relating to reporting on suicide. If the decision is to proceed with coverage, plan and/or discuss how harm might be minimized.
Seek advice from suicide prevention experts. Be especially cautious when reporting on celebrity or youth suicide deaths, as these currently have the strongest evidence for contagion.
Consider how a vulnerable person may identify with the suicidal behaviour/people depicted and consider steps that might minimize this.
Consider the impact of the report on:
Those thinking of suicide or potentially at-risk for suicide
Those bereaved by suicide, including attention to respect for their privacy and grief
The journalist who is reporting the story
Consider the appropriate approach/format. Suicide reporting should generally be done by health reporters rather than other journalists (e.g., crime reporters), as they are best positioned to contextualize the issue within the broader topic of mental health. If other journalists do report, they should at least consult with guidelines and/or health reporter colleagues.
Where possible, long-form reporting is recommended, as it allows journalists the opportunity for nuanced discussion and may avoid presenting the causes of suicide in an overly simplistic fashion.
Factors for journalists and editors/producers to consider before covering suicide-related content: We acknowledge that suicide death of prominent figures will invariably result in serial coverage but urge journalists to nevertheless weigh the need for additional stories.
Recommendations for potentially harmful elements of media reporting that should be avoided and potentially helpful elements to avoid include:
Prominent coverage, including front page/lead story coverage
Prominent photos of the deceased or loved ones or people engaged in suicidal behaviour
Graphic or sensational depictions
Excessive detail, including details or photos of the method and/or location, particularly avoid reporting novel or uncommon methods
Glorifying or glamourizing either the person or the act of suicide in a way that might lead others to identify with them
The content of suicide notes
Repetitive or excessive coverage
Inappropriate use of language, including the word “suicide” in the headline, “commit” or “committed” suicide, “successful/unsuccessful” or “failed” attempts
Simplistic or superficial reasons for the suicide (i.e., suicide as arising from a single cause or event, such as blaming social media for suicide)
Portraying suicide as achieving results and solving problems
Do not describe suicidal behaviour as quick, easy, painless, certain to result in death or relieving suffering/leading to peace (“in a better place”)
Appropriate language (i.e., “he died by suicide” or “her suicide death”)
Reporting that reduces stigma about mental disorders/seeking mental healthcare and that challenges common myths about suicide
Refer to research linking mental disorders with suicide
Highlight that mental disorders are treatable and therefore that suicide is preventable
Highlight the tragedy of suicide (i.e., describe it in terms of a lost opportunity for someone suffering to have received help)
Seek advice from suicide prevention experts and consider including quotes on causes and treatments
Alternatives to suicide (i.e., treatment)
Include community resource information, such as websites or hotlines, for those with suicidal thoughts
Where possible, list or link to a list of options including reaching out to a trusted family or community member, speaking to a physician or health care provider, seeking counselling/talk therapy, calling a hotline/911, or going to a nearby emergency department
Where possible, cite examples of a positive outcome of a suicidal crisis (i.e., calling a suicide hotline)
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