Provides basic facts and guidance for responding to a student who may be at risk for suicide. Also list risk factors and warning signs.
School
Sources of Strength: Preventing Suicide among High School Students through Peer Leadership and Adult Mentoring
Thursday, July 26, 2012 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Eastern Time
Sources of Strength is a program that trains diverse high school students to serve as peer leaders and connects them with adult advisors at school and in the community. With support from the advisors, the peer leaders conduct well-defined messaging activities intended to change peer group norms influencing coping practices and problem behaviors (e.g., self-harm, drug use, unhealthy sexual practices). An evaluation of the program in 18 high schools found that the curriculum led to changes in peer leaders’ coping practices and connectedness with adults and to changes in norms of students in the school population. The norms most strongly enhanced were the acceptability of seeking help from adults and students’ perceptions that adults in their school could provide help to suicidal students.
This webinar will highlight the critical aspects of the Sources of Strength program, which could be replicated in other settings. It will also describe an effective approach to program evaluation. Specific attention will be given to enhancing protective factors associated with suicide at the school population level.
Objectives:
By the end of the webinar participants will be able to:
- Describe the key elements of the Sources of Strength Program and understand how it works to decrease suicide risk.
- Understand how data was collected and utilized to improve the program.
- Know how one community benefitted from implementing the program.
- Identify methods for adopting or adapting the strategies, approaches, and tools of the Sources of Strength Program for use in their own communities.
Multimedia
Presenter(s)
Mark LoMurray, Founder and Executive Director, Sources of Strength
Diane Rosado, Peer Leader, Sources of Strength
Laura Rundell, Health Teacher and Program Leader, Elmira Free Academy
Peter A. Wyman, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine
Moderator
Gayle Jaffe, MSW, MPH, Senior Prevention Specialist, SPRC
Expanding Suicide Prevention to Include Upstream Approaches
Tuesday, September 25, 2012 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm
EST
Suicide prevention efforts have largely focused on strategies to identify and get help for those who are at-risk for suicide, but suicide prevention can also occur prior to the onset of risk to prevent the development of risk. Such “upstream” suicide prevention approaches may be able to inoculate individuals against suicide. One example of an upstream approach is the Good Behavior Game (GBG), a classroom management technique for use in elementary schools. A follow-up study of students who had the GBG in first and second grade found an almost 50% reduction in suicide attempts at age 20. This webinar will highlight the GBG and its theorized mechanism for reducing suicide attempts. In addition, other upstream approaches and the role of upstream approaches within the spectrum of wellness, prevention, treatment, and aftercare strategies for suicide prevention will be discussed. The potential long-term impact of upstream approaches in preventing a wide range of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders will be discussed, along with the practice implications of such findings.
By the end of the webinar participants will be able to:
- Distinguish between health promotion, prevention, case identification & treatment, and aftercare strategies to prevent suicide.
- Describe the Good Behavior Game and why it may reduce suicide attempts later in life.
- Discuss, generally, the role early intervention programs can play in preventing suicide.
- Value the potential contributions of upstream suicide prevention approaches when engaging in strategic planning of prevention initiatives.
Materials
Presenter(s)
Gail F. Ritchie, M.S.W., LCSW-C, Public Health Analyst/GPO, SAMHSA/Center for Mental Health Services
Philip Rodgers, Ph.D, Evaluation Scientist, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Dennis D. Embry, Ph.D, President/Senior Scientist, PAXIS Institute
Morton M. Silverman, MD, Senior Advisor, Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Sheppard G. Kellam, MD, Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Moderator
Xan Young, MPH, Director, SPRC Training Institute
The SPRC is supported by a grant (1 U79 SM059945) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). No official endorsement by SAMHSA or DHHS for the information on this web site is intended or should be inferred.
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) is a project in EDC's Health and Human Development Division
43 Foundry Avenue, Waltham, MA 02453-8313. 877-GET-SPRC (438-7772), info@sprc.org
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