High School

Developed by Erika’s Lighthouse, Real Teenagers Talking about Depression: A Video-Based Study Guide is a 1-hour universal intervention for middle-school and high-school classrooms that focuses on depression education. The purpose of the video and study guide is to increase student knowledge about depression, reduce stigma surrounding depression and increase the likelihood that students with depression will receive help. In addition to the video and study guide, a number of optional exercises, which include understanding depression, the science of the brain and depression, exploring stigma, how to help a friend, coping with stress and resiliency, and Bullying and depression (but were not reviewed for inclusion in the BPR). The study guide was developed by the board and staff of Erika’s Lighthouse that includes mental health professionals and was reviewed by the Erika’s Lighthouse board, mental health professionals and educators.

Program content is based on research that shows that: depression is common among adolescents; it is a major risk factor for youth suicide; it is a diagnosable mental disorder with specific symptoms; it is treatable and friends are often the first to know about a friend’s depression. 

Trevor Lifeguard Workshop is a 1-hour interactive workshop for high school and college-age youth that describes the mental health, suicide, and self-care resources provided by The Trevor Project. There are two versions of the workshop: one for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and one for general youth audiences. Workshops are given by volunteer facilitators who have completed the 2-day Trevor Lifeguard Workshop training for trainers. The workshop guides youth and young adults in a conversation about how to recognize the warning signs of suicide and how to respond in a way that will keep their peers safe. In addition, the workshop guides participants in a conversation about self-care strategies and helps participants identify their own personal strategies for self-care. The workshop concludes by helping the participants identify sources of support in their own environment and includes a discussion of each of the resources available through The Trevor Project, including The Trevor Lifeline, TrevorSpace, TrevorChat, and Ask Trevor.

The Lifeguard Workshop was developed by reviewing the current literature regarding suicide prevention awareness and education programs for youth and young adults, as well as current research regarding LGBTQ youth mental health issues. Through an examination of existing curricula it became evident that there was a need for an educational resource that was specifically designed to address the mental health needs of the LGBTQ community and make resources for LGBTQ youth both visible and available. 

Developed by the Teen CONTACT Program at CONTACT Crisis Line, Just Talk About It: Suicide Prevention Toolkit is a program designed to train both adults and adolescents on how to assist youth who exhibit signs of suicidal risk. At the completion of the training, participants are able to better identify a suicidal crisis, how stress can increase suicide risk, symptoms of depression, warning signs associated with suicide and ultimately, how to help a student and/or friend who may be at risk for suicide. After identifying an adolescent who is at risk for suicide, the trainee is able to approach and ask the individual about their condition and refer them to help. Following the adolescent's acceptance of help, the trained individual is able to take the appropriate measures to refer the person for treatment and/or to the appropriate trained adult, counselor or teacher.

The Teen CONTACT Program at CONTACT Crisis Line has offered community-based suicide prevention training since 2000. Just Talk About It was developed and refined based on evaluations of those trainings. The toolkit is available as a “stand-alone” toolkit, or it can be used in conjunction with Train-the-trainer, direct staff and administrator training, or parent training offered by the CONTACT Crisis LIne in the Dallas area. 

Program at Boston Children's Hospital, Break Free From Depression is a 4-lesson (approximately 4-hour total) classroom curriculum that increases student knowledge of depression and suicide and promotes help-seeking for students in grades 8-12. The curriculum is divided into four sessions: (1) What is depression? (2) What Does It Look Like? (3) What Can We Learn? and (4) What Can We Do? Included with the curriculum is a 35-minute documentary that provides stories of young people who have faced and learned how to cope with depression; suggestions and materials for staff professional development and parent education; and supplemental lessons that allow teachers the opportunity to continue this important conversation on a regular basis in a variety of settings using a variety of instructional approaches. The curriculum can be taught by regular classroom teachers, guidance counselors, adjustment counselors, and/or school nurses. However, it is strongly recommended that anyone planning to teach the curriculum attend a train the trainer workshop offered throughout the school year by the SDPI team. (Dates for upcoming train the trainer workshop dates can be found on the program’s website: www.breakfreefromdepression.com.)

The Break Free From Depression curriculum builds on previous research and the pilot programs of the SDPI undertaken at Boston Children's Hospital to raise awareness of depression among adolescents. The Break Free From Depression curriculum is based on best practices and informed by experiences gathered over the six years of existence of the SDPI, including feedback from students, teachers, and school staff.

Developed by NAMI NH, Youth Leaders is a two-day training for youth leaders and adult co-facilitators that prepares youth and adults to conduct Connect Youth Suicide Prevention training for teenage audiences.

Friends of youth at risk are typically the ones who see suicidal warnings before adults. Because youth may not know what to do about a friend at risk, or may keep a suicide plan “secret,” it is important for youth to be trained in suicide prevention and intervention. Research consistently shows that peer training is a very effective method for educating youth.

Youth leaders should be selected to represent a cross-section of local youth culture and should be offered continued adult support in their role as co-trainers after the training is completed. The training emphasizes that the role of youth is to seek help from an adult when there is a concern, NOT to take on the role of a counselor.

Youth Leaders is based on Connect Suicide Prevention Training, a designated SPRC/AFSP Best Practices Registry program. This training takes into account developmental considerations of high school-age youth as well as safe messaging guidelines. All materials, activities, and PowerPoint slides were developed to meet the needs of youth and guide their involvement in youth suicide prevention.

Developed by the Lessons Learned Working Group (LLWG), Recommendations for School-Based Suicide Prevention Screening provides research-based recommendations for those interested in selecting or developing, and then implementing a screening program to prevent suicide. The Recommendations were developed based on (1) a review of the available research literature, (2) data collected from Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLS) grant sites, and (3) direct input from selected GLS grantees. The group created thirteen recommendations for the selection or development, as well as implementation, of school-based screening programs to identify those at risk for suicide. Draft versions of the Recommendations were then reviewed and modified based on input from program developers and experts in the field of suicide prevention. Because these recommendations were based on research and evaluation and informed by lessons learned from grantees, the LLWG believes they are likely to improve the effectiveness of school-based suicide prevention screening.