Suicide Prevention & Postvention
Resources for Organizations and Providers
Over the last decade, TAPS postvention professionals have developed a field-leading, best-practice approach to care we call the TAPS Suicide Postvention ModelTM. This three-phase model of support has provided hope and healing to thousands of suicide loss survivors.
The Model stabilizes survivors in the aftermath of a loss, guides them onto a health-promoting grief journey, and paves the way for achieving posttraumatic growth. Stabilization focuses on identifying and addressing suicide-specific issues that may complicate the grief journey. Grief work is the process of identifying grief as love and finding positive ways to integrate these emotions into one’s life. Posttraumatic growth is the process of creating positive change for oneself after facing such devastating loss.
A January 2021 peer-reviewed article in the scholarly journal Death Studies lays out the Model in detail. "TAPS Suicide Postvention ModelTM: A comprehensive framework of healing and growth" discusses the history of the TAPS postvention program, anchors the Model in theory and clinical best practices, and describes in detail how the phases and tasks of the Model should be applied.
The TAPS Suicide Postvention ModelTM has become a crucial component of the suicide prevention strategies of other organizations. In some cases, the Model has been relied on to provide a critical foundation for the postvention approaches, resources, and toolkits of our partners. These include but are not limited to the U.S. Defense Department's Postvention Toolkit for a Military Suicide Loss and recommendations to the International Association of Chiefs of Police by the National Consortium for Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide.
The TAPS Suicide Postvention ModelTM is useful to all organizations outside the realm of the military and veteran communities. It is also applicable to forms of loss beyond suicide.
To learn more about the TAPS three-part Postvention Model or to contact one of our professionals for a consultation, please contact us at 202-588-8277 or suicidepostvention@taps.org.
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Partnerships
Consultation Request
To learn more about the TAPS three-part Postvention Model and to contact our professionals for a consultation, complete the training request form or email suicidepostvention@taps.org.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
TAPS staff are certified in ASIST, which teaches students to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and how to respond. For training, complete the training request form.
Too Close for Comfort: Mental Health and Wellness During Changing Family Dynamics
Listen to professionals advise on how to navigate managing a stay at home family while taking care of yourself during this pandemic.
Intimate Partners and Suicide: Finding Hope When the Unthinkable Happens
Learn eight practical ways that healers of all types can use to support partners who have lost a loved one to suicide.
Suicide, Grief and Trauma: Supporting Veterans and Families of the Fallen
Discover common barriers that may prevent veterans and military family members from discussing their experiences of grief and loss.
Grief to Growth: A Roadmap to a Healthy Grief Journey
Get insight into helping suicide loss survivors find new meaning and purpose as they progress along their healing journey.
Understanding Why People Die by Suicide
Examine the risk factors that can come together to form the “perfect storm” that leads to suicide. This knowledge can help survivors heal.
PsychArmor Institute Trainings
PsychArmor Institute portfolio provides vital education and information about Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention for all audiences.
Nonprofit Partnerships
- National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
- Home Base: Intensive Clinical Program for Families of the Fallen
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
- American Association of Suicidology (AAS)
- National Suicide Training Center (NSTC)
- International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
- Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
- Alliance of Hope
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