Interventions to Prevent Youth Suicide

CE Course Description

Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities, and effective prevention strategies are needed to promote awareness of suicide while also promoting prevention, resilience, and a commitment to social change.  This intermediate level continuing education course, developed using information from the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, focuses on suicide among young people, including a summarization of basic facts and statistics, common myths, risk and protective factors, prevention efforts and actions, and public health concerns around youth behavioral health and suicide.  In addition, the roles of family, schools, and communities in suicide prevention are discussed as well as specific strategies for managing suicidal crises.

Author: Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA

CE Course Objectives

1. Differentiate between myths and facts pertaining to suicidal thoughts and behaviors among young people.
2. Discuss individual, relational, community, and societal factors that contribute to the risk of suicide or buffer individuals from suicidal tendencies.
3. Identify national, community-level, and school wide suicide prevention strategies and outline efforts to improve these endeavors.
4. Evaluate the unique opportunities that schools have to address the behavioral health of young people and how they can best take action to prevent tragedies such as suicide.
5. Describe how public health entities can use a population approach to improve health on a large scale, including the behavioral health of youth.
6. Review examples of models, research, guides, and criteria for developing youth suicide prevention strategies and practices.
7. Summarize specific information pertaining to mood and emotional regulation among young people, including that which is developmentally appropriate and that which meets the criteria of a mental disorder.
8. Discuss specific strategies for dealing with a suicidal crisis in the moment and during the aftermath.

CE Course Outline

Introduction: Surgeon General’s Call to Action (10 mins)

1. Surgeon General’s Call to Action (10 mins)

I. On Suicide and Its Prevention (90 mins)

1. About Youth Suicide/Depression/Violence (15 mins)
2. Basic Facts and Stats (10 mins)
3. Common Myths (10 mins)
4. Risk and Protective Factors (20 mins)
5. About Prevention (20 mins)
6. A Public Health Concern (15 mins)

II. The Role of Schools (45 mins)

1. The Role of High School Mental Health Providers in Preventing Suicide (15 mins)
2. A School-Based Suicide Risk Assessment Strategy (10 mins)
3. Issues About School Involvement (20 mins)

III. Examples of Models, Research, Guides, and Criteria (55 mins)

1. Risk and Protective Factors in a Social Ecological Model (10 mins)
2. School-Based Gatekeeper Training to Identify At-Risk Youth (10 mins)
3. Research on Relationship to Attachment (10 mins)
4. Suicide Prevention Among LGBTQ+ Youth: A Workshop (15 mins)
5. Criteria for Identification (10 mins)

IV. Intervention Planning and Training (30 mins)

1. Responding to Suicidal Crisis (15 mins)
2. Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention (15 mins)

V. On Aftermath Assistance and Prevention of Contagion (20 mins)

1. Postvention (20 mins)

VI. Additional Resources (30 mins)

1. A. Additional References (10 mins)
2. B. Websites (10 mins)
3. C. Quick Find: Suicide Prevention (10 mins)