Over the time of our careers, many or most of us will have had to deal with depressed students who have suicidal tendencies. As teachers of psychology, people already think of us as counselors even if we do not have that particular training. My belief is that we need to educate ourselves and be prepared in case we do encounter students in distress.
April and May are the two months that have the most suicide attempts. After having suffered for months, the increased sunshine and energy can take a suicidal person's intentions and turn them into actions. While researching something else, I found an amazing resource. Here are links to assist in our preventing suicide.
The Role of the High School Teacher in Preventing Suicide
This article contains many resources as well as information on how to respond to students in distress. It is worth the time to read.
This link and others are courtesy of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center or http://www.sprc.org/. They have many resources available to educators nationwide.
Here is one link to get you started on their site: http://www.sprc.org/basics/roles-suicide-prevention.
On the left are links to resources for further reading and for parents as well as other people within your school organizations.
May you find the information helpful and may you be successful when you do have to deal with these challenging situations.
posted by Chuck Schallhorn
I lost my stepbrother 12 years ago to suicide. Our adult son attempted it 10 years later. He still struggles. Suicide and suicidal ideations create victims of everyone. It is imperative that we talk about this openly to share hope with others going through it. Thank you for educating the teachers. Be a voice and share hope!
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