Introduction

This article provides an introduction to this special issue of Death Studies on suicide postvention. The articles in the issue are derived from a document released by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, titled Responding to Grief, Trauma, and Distress after Suicide: U.S. National Guidelines. The article provides data and a rationale for considering suicide as a serious public health issue in the USA and around the world, and the need for postvention after a suicide occurs. A brief description of each of the articles in the special issue then follows.