Skills and Certifications

Biography

Matt Mabe is a writer, consultant, and Army combat veteran who has worked closely with grieving suicide loss survivors since 2017. In both his professional and private life, Matt has found tremendous meaning in aiding those newly bereaved by suicide loss to find the resources they need in their hours of deepest pain. 

While at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), Matt was instrumental in developing and growing suicide postvention programming for surviving military and veteran family members. In 2021, he co-authored an article with colleagues that comprehensively lays out TAPS’s three-phase, peer-to-peer model of care for survivors, which has become recognized as one of the best approaches in America to treating suicide bereavement. Matt also co-wrote and edited an accompanying manual for survivors to help them heal from suicide loss. 

A lifelong writer and one-time journalist, Matt has helped dozens of survivors tell their stories through writing and speaking. He has coached many on how to engage with the news media, either strategically or – as is sometimes required – as a protective measure. Matt has also worked with families on funeral preparations, obituary writing, and finding meaningful ways to honor the lives of lost loved ones.

Matt has also served as a consultant on a range of film, television, and stage productions that deal with the issue of suicide, including the documentary film Speaking Grief, a series of suicide loss testimonials for the U.S. Air Force, and a Sesame Street episode on how to talk to children about suicide, to name just a few. He has conducted workshops at seminars and conferences on how to creatively express one’s grief around suicide loss. Matt has also been invited by organizations to speak about the best ways to talk about suicide safely and strategically. Matt is trained in LivingWorks ASIST and certified to perform psychological autopsies by the American Association of Suicidology.

Matt is a West Point graduate, a former Army officer, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a recipient of the Bronze Star. He holds a masters degree in journalism from Columbia University and a masters in public policy from Harvard. He lives outside Philadelphia with his wife and four daughters.