AAS Postvention & Survivor Support 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In workplace postvention following an employee's suicide, which step is recommended FIRST for the organization's leadership?
- Notify employees with factual, compassionate communication and provide resource referrals (Correct answer)
- Immediately remove all of the deceased's belongings without announcement
- Suspend workplace mental health programs pending investigation
- Require all employees to attend mandatory grief counseling
Correct answer: Notify employees with factual, compassionate communication and provide resource referrals
Timely, accurate, and compassionate notification to employees, paired with resource referrals, is the recommended first step in workplace postvention.
Question 2: Which grief model describes the survivor's oscillation between loss-orientation (focusing on grief) and restoration-orientation (focusing on rebuilding) as adaptive?
- Dual Process Model (Stroebe & Schut) (Correct answer)
- Kübler-Ross Stage Model
- Continuing Bonds Theory
- Task Model of Mourning (Worden)
Correct answer: Dual Process Model (Stroebe & Schut)
The Dual Process Model by Stroebe and Schut posits that healthy bereavement involves alternating between confronting grief and focusing on life adjustments.
Question 3: A postvention counselor working with a child who lost a parent to suicide should PRIMARILY tailor communication by:
- Using developmentally appropriate language and concrete explanations (Correct answer)
- Avoiding any mention of death to protect the child from trauma
- Treating the child the same as an adult survivor
- Deferring all discussion until the child reaches adolescence
Correct answer: Using developmentally appropriate language and concrete explanations
Children require age-appropriate, honest, and concrete language about death to understand the loss and begin healthy grieving.
Question 4: Which factor has research identified as INCREASING risk for suicidal ideation among survivors of suicide loss compared to survivors of other types of loss?
- Exposure to the method used in the suicide (Correct answer)
- Attendance at formal memorial services
- Participation in peer support groups
- Receiving psychoeducation about grief
Correct answer: Exposure to the method used in the suicide
Survivors exposed to the method of death (e.g., witnessing or discovering the scene) have elevated risk for their own suicidal ideation compared to other bereaved individuals.
Question 5: The 'loss of assumptive world' concept, particularly relevant to suicide bereavement, refers to:
- The shattering of fundamental beliefs about safety, meaning, and predictability (Correct answer)
- Losing financial stability after a family member's death
- Forgetting shared memories due to grief-related cognitive changes
- The removal of the deceased's physical presence from shared spaces
Correct answer: The shattering of fundamental beliefs about safety, meaning, and predictability
Suicide loss can shatter survivors' core assumptions about the world being safe and predictable, a concept central to trauma and grief literature.
Question 6: Which of the following is a key distinguishing feature of suicide bereavement compared to bereavement after natural death?
- Greater social stigma and social withdrawal among survivors (Correct answer)
- Shorter duration of acute grief
- Lower rates of depression in survivors
- Higher likelihood of immediate professional help-seeking
Correct answer: Greater social stigma and social withdrawal among survivors
Suicide bereavement is uniquely associated with social stigma, which often causes survivors to withdraw and delay seeking support.
Question 7: After a suicide in a correctional facility, postvention obligations include all of the following EXCEPT:
- Permanently removing all other inmates from contact with staff (Correct answer)
- Debriefing staff who discovered the body
- Providing mental health screening for at-risk inmates
- Reviewing the facility's suicide prevention protocols
Correct answer: Permanently removing all other inmates from contact with staff
Removing all inmates from staff contact is not a standard postvention protocol; the focus is on staff support, inmate mental health, and protocol review.
AAS Postvention & Survivor Support 3
In workplace postvention following an employee's suicide, which step is recommended FIRST for the organization's leadership?