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   Hello, All.   
      
   With the holiday season  going on, especially in these trying times, although   
   this isn't a topic people like thinking about, it's something that  we really   
   do need to give time to.   
   VAntage Point   
      
   Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs   
      
   Postvention is key to suicide prevention says surviving spouse, advocate   
      
      
      
   Posted on Monday, September 23, 2019 8:00 am Posted in Mental Health by Adam   
   Stump 710 views    
      
   Dr. Carla Stumpf-Patton’s work around suicide prevention and postvention is   
   more than a job. It’s personal.   
      
   Stumpf-Patton is the surviving spouse of Marine Sgt. Richard Stumpf. He was a   
   Gulf War-era combat Veteran who died by suicide in 1994, several days before   
   their only child was born.   
      
   She now serves as the senior director of Suicide Postvention Programs for   
   TAPS, or Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. Her message to Veterans and   
   military members is clear: comprehensive postvention care is a key to   
   prevention.   
      
   “When we’re talking about suicide, people should know prevention,   
   intervention and postvention are all very interrelated,” she said.   
   “Comprehensive postvention care is a key to prevention of future suicides.”   
      
   Suicide postvention is how group members come together in response to a death   
   by suicide. Postvention is critical because it’s a stabilization period for   
   survivors, putting them on a healing path, she said. People can talk through   
   complicating factors with the assistance of peer-based support, as well as   
   professional help and clinical care when needed.   
      
   The TAPS Suicide Postvention Model provides hope and healing to suicide loss   
   survivors through a three-phase approach that includes Stabilization, Grief   
   Work, and Post-traumatic Growth. Stabilization focuses on identifying and   
   addressing suicide-specific issues that may complicate the grief journey.   
   Grief work is the process of moving away from how loved ones died and then   
   rebuilding relationships with them that focus on how they lived and served.   
   Post-traumatic growth is the process of finding meaning from the loss.   
      
   Enduring loss   
      
   Stumpf-Patton said Veterans and service members who have endured the loss of a   
   battle buddy to suicide can be at increased risk when they are not offered   
   quality postvention care. She said their first step should be to seek help.   
      
   “We know that after a suicide death, there can be a ripple effect within the   
   community of all those who are impacted,” she said. “The aftermath and   
   devastation of loss can be felt deep, far, and wide. A suicide affects family,   
   friends and colleagues.”   
      
   She said Veterans and military members should not push down or brush aside   
   their grief. People should reach out for help because those emotions are valid.   
      
   “It is equally important for people to be watching out for one another,”   
   she said. “There are times when those who might be struggling, or perhaps   
   having an emotional crisis, may not able to reach out or ask for help. It’s   
   imperative we are paying attention to one another and asking directly about   
   suicide if we see concerns in those around us.”   
      
   Grief is a wound   
      
   She said grief should be taken care of because it’s a wound.   
      
   “Just as you would with a physiological wound you sustained, a traumatic   
   loss deserves the same type of care,” she said. “Grief isn’t always   
   acknowledged as something that needs care, but it can be a deep, complex   
   emotional wound. People should address that and get the quality care they   
   need. We can all remind those around us that they are not alone in their   
   struggles, as well as offer a variety of options where people can seek out the   
   care they may need.”   
      
   Stumpf-Patton said her loss impacted her so profoundly that it became her   
   personal and professional calling. She was 24 when she lost her husband to   
   suicide. She later became a licensed mental health clinician, joining TAPS in   
   2008. As a long-time survivor, she said programs exist now that did not when   
   she suffered the death of her husband. She said seeking help is the first step   
   to overcoming and healing after tragedy and traumatic loss.   
      
   TAPS   
      
   TAPS has served more than 13,500 survivors grieving the suicide loss of a   
   military loved one. Through this crucial work, TAPS has developed a highly   
   successful best-practice method of support.   
      
   TAPS offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a loved one   
   who died while serving in the Armed Forces or as a result of his or her   
   service. Since 1994, TAPS has provided comfort and hope 24/7 through a   
   national peer support network and connection to grief resources. These   
   services are all at no cost to surviving families and loved ones. TAPS has   
   assisted more than 90,000 surviving families, casualty officers and caregivers.   
      
   For more information and resources related to TAPS, visit www.taps.org/bethere.   
      
   For information on suicide prevention resources available through VA, visit   
   https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/resources.asp.   
      
   If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Veterans   
   Crisis Line to receive free, confidential support and crisis intervention   
   available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Call 1-800-273-8255   
   and Press 1, text to 838255, or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.   
      
      
   Author   
      
   Adam Stump   
      
   Adam Stump is a public affairs specialist with VA’s Digital Media Engagement   
   team. He is a retired Air Force Veteran who served 20 years, including two   
   deployments to Afghanistan for detention operations and special operations.   
      
      
      
      
   https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/66348/suicide-postvention-key-s   
   icide-prevention-says-surviving-spouse-advocate/   
      
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