103 102 Chapter Five: Supporting Students with Mental Health Difficulties Chapter Five: Supporting Students with Mental Health Difficulties Effective postvention needs advanced planning, timely delivery, and also interdisciplinary communication and coordination among various offices, faculty, and community members. A postvention committee can be established to deploy plans in the event of a suicide. The committee typically consists of the following stakeholders: • Chair/Lead Coordinator (Appointed by Provost or VPAB) • Faculty of the corresponding School or Department • Counseling and Wellness Center • Campus Security Office • Scholarships and Financial Aid Office • Public Affairs Office • Student Housing and Residential Life Office (if the student lived in hall) • Office of Global Learning (if the student is an international/ exchange student) • Student union or other connections to student community Postvention responses should be disseminated in a sensitive and caring manner, recognizing that individuals respond in different ways to different circumstances that may surround a death. The postvention committee will work together to make sure the campus responds to the death in a unified manner, and should examine periodically the effectiveness of the response and explore issues that could have been handled better. Because of the complicated and sensitive nature of suicide and death, the following guidelines are not meant to be a comprehensive step-by-step protocol, but general principles and key considerations in implementing the postvention strategies. RESPONDING TO STUDENT DEATH Despite all the efforts in promoting student mental health and preventing suicide, tragedies can still occur at times. The death of a student affects the entire University community, as well as the family and friends of the deceased. Postvention refers to the best practices for handling communication, counseling, mourning, memorialization, and other matters following a suicide. It involves a series of planned interventions with those affected by a campus suicide with the purposes of: “The death of a student affects the entire University community, as well as the family and friends of the deceased.” Facilitating the grieving process Stabilizing the environment and restoring a sense of order and routine Lowering the risk of further suicides through contagion Improving future prevention and crisis responses
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