WELCOME TO THE ELLIPSE POSTVENTION COURSE

This course will provide you with postvention knowledge and teach you postvention micro-skills that can help you maintain direction toward post-traumatic growth while coping with the trauma of suicide. Implementing the practical tips learned in this course in a social service, healthcare, and educational setting will help reduce education and training gaps and better support people affected by suicide loss.

The ELLIPSE POSTVENTION course was developed thanks to the efforts of the ELLIPSE project partners from Poland and Sweden. The course was developed and is run by experienced educators from Jagiellonian University, the Polish Society of Suicidology and SPES-Blekinge (coordinator). It was co-financed by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

Project ID number:

Title: ELLIPSE POSTVENTION COURSE

Duration: 10-09-2024 to 09-09-2025 (12 months)

TARGET GROUP

This postvention course is aimed at people who want to learn how to deal with grief and how to help someone in grief on an individual, family, professional, and community level

PREREQUISITES

No prior knowledge of suicidology is required to attend the course, but you are welcome to attend the ELLIPSE Gatekeeper+ Course in Suicide Prevention to expand your knowledge and skills in suicide prevention.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

A course participant will:

• have the opportunity to gain insight from people who have lost a loved one to suicide
• learn 10 myths and truths about grief after suicide
• acquire a postvention model that enables coping with suicide trauma while reducing its destructive effects and increasing opportunities for post-traumatic growth
• acquire a professional attitude and skills to support the grieving family
• learn 15 things to keep in mind when talking to bereaved families after a suicide
• learn more about the consequences of suicide in the health, social care, and education sectors
• learn about postvention measures in the education, social care, and health sectors
• receive materials that can be use for psychoeducation in suicide prevention, including postvention
• learn about post-traumatic growth and safety planning skills (12 Steps Safety Plan) that can be used for own mental health needs or to teach a client and their loved ones
• meet online experts and discuss postvention topics

COURSE OVERVIEW

The ELLIPSE POSTVENTION course is modular so that you can study the material according to your needs. In Module A, you will learn the basics of postvention; Module B is about coping with a suicide loss and supporting a friend/relative in a crisis caused by a suicide loss; in Module C, we have grouped some practical interventions that focus on an individual, a family and a group. Module D deals with healthcare postvention, Module E with social care and Module F with postvention in educational settings. "ELLIPSE Postvention Handbook" is an integral part of this course. 

CONDITIONS FOR OBTAINING A CERTIFICATE

The key presumption of course creators is that stress doesn’t necessarily translate to more knowledge and skills of a student, layperson, peer with lived experience, or a professional. That is why one of the aims of the course is to provide every participant with a low stress and support-on-demand, and a course participant-friendly learning environment with access to one of the course creators on ZOOM for one hour every week. Consultations are available in English, Polish and Swedish.

To pass the course and receive a certificate, you need to get 60% on at least four selected course modules by answering 10 questions at the end of each module (A-F).

As this online course on postvention is one of the first ones in the world, we strongly encourage you to take a survey before and after the course. It will help us, the course creators, and the course participants co-develop and fill the gap for high-quality learning in this challenging field.

IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE?

Should you require any assistance for mental health issues in your native language, you are welcome to visit the website: https://findahelpline.com/, and if you wish to practice some mental health skills and create your own 12 Steps Safety Plan (12 SSP) visit our website: https://12stepsplan.com.
Contact course creators: info@12stepsplan.com

COURSE STAFF

   Anna Baran

Psychiatrist. Suicidologist. Affiliated researcher at the Linnaeus University, Kalmar-Växjö, Sweden

International coordinator of ELLIPSE and ELLIPSE Postvention grants. Graduated from Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum. A member of IASP, the Suicidology Section of the European Psychiatric Association, and the Polish Association of Suicidology. Expert in the Working Group on prevention of suicide and depression at the Public Health Council at the Ministry of Health. Coordinator of the educational task (Task 6) of the National Strategy of Suicide Prevention in National Health Program (2021-2025) in Poland. Co-author of three handbooks in suicide prevention: for media professionals, for people who are interviewed in media, and for the moderators and administrators of the internet networks. Interest: suicide prevention (since 2005) .

  Tomasz Milewicz

Senior lecturer at the Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum, Poland

A reproductive endocrinologist and OB/Gyn specialist with 25 years of experience working in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Jagiellonian University Medical Faculty in Cracow. Interests: work, cycling, traveling.

   Maiellen Stensmark

Suicide Loss Survivor, SPES Blekinge, Sweden

Coordinator of ELLIPSE grant on behalf of SPES Blekinge. Teacher in the Spanish Language. Social worker/community planner, aroma- and acupressure masseur. She is a Chairperson of non-profit organizataion, SPES Blekinge (2010-2022). Author of the book "Såphalka och Lingontuvor" (Eng. "Soap slips and lingonberries") (2015) about sorrow, the relation to a daughter and her suicide at the age of 21, 2004. Maiellen writes a blog on suicide prevention (https://www.forebyggsjalvmord.se/). Interests: dance, swimming, sailing, art, and nature.