School Based Suicide Prevention Programs and Useful Materials

Columbia University TeenScreen® Program helps schools and communities implement screening programs to identify at-risk teens and pre-teens. It uses simple screening tools that can detect depression, the risk of suicide, and other mental disorders in teens to help schools identify and arrange treatment for youth who are suffering from depression and other undiagnosed mental illness and those who are at risk of suicide.

Jason Foundation, Inc. educates young people, parents, teachers, and others who work with young people about youth suicide. The foundation offers programs, seminars, and support materials on suicide awareness and prevention.

SOS Signs of Suicide® Program provides school health professionals with the educational materials necessary to replicate this program, which teaches high school students to recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide and depression in themselves and others and to follow specific action steps to respond to those signs. The program can be incorporated into an existing health curriculum or can be used as a stand-alone program. The program includes educational materials, a training video, and an implementation manual, and can be completed in one or two class periods.

The Main Youth Suicide Prevention Program recommends components that schools should implement as part of a broad-based prevention program.

The Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide was developed by the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida. It provides a framework for schools to assess their existing or proposed suicide prevention efforts (through a series of checklists) and provides resources and information that school administrators can use to enhance or add to their existing program. Information is offered in a series of issue briefs corresponding to a specific checklist. Each brief offers a rationale for the importance of the specific topic together with a brief overview of the key points. The briefs also offer specific strategies that have proven to work in reducing the incidence of suicide, with references that schools can use to explore these issues in greater detail.

These resources can be immensely helpful to teachers and other school officials. However, if the programs are not followed and carried out meticulously, failure could be the result.

For more information on the guidelines of such programs as set by the American Association of Suicidology see the section titled “Guidelines for School Based Suicide Prevention Programs”