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Saul B. Wilen, MD, Daniel J. Muraida, PhD, Ruth N. Fagan, PhD, Daneen M. Milam, PhD,
and Frederick Van Wert, EdD
e-mail: ihu@intlhorizons.com
Suicide,
a leading cause of death in the United States, has been declared by the Surgeon
General to be a major public health issue requiring significant and immediate
action. The growing problem of suicide,
especially among our school age population, necessitates awareness and intervention
strategies to create a comprehensive suicide prevention initiative for our schools
and communities. Emphasizing suicide
awareness, intervention, and methodology (advancing the science of suicide prevention)
is a strong directional beginning. However, in reality school districts primarily
emphasize intervention and crisis management. Establishing the prevention foundation gets
lost in the mire of attitudes that reflect a societal orientation to be primarily
reactive. Part of this problem derives
from an unwillingness to openly discuss issues like suicide.
The
accomplishment of the prevention objective can occur when awareness of the extent
and seriousness of the problem is openly addressed. Employing new and innovative educational tools
including applications of new and developing technologies will aid in accomplishing
awareness. School, where children spend
significant time during their formative years, is a logical environment for
developing prevention concepts.
The prevention
process requires:
¨incorporation of consistent orientation;
¨enhancement of participant interest, learning, and commitment;
measurable objectives, monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness;
¨outcomes assessment;
¨cost effective updating; and
¨necessary re-mediation, repetition, and periodic reinforcement;
and feedback which results in alternative traditional approaches to bring about
the necessary educational results.
Rapidly
changing societal conditions bring increasing pressures on students, school
staff, families, and communities. These
pressures create a need for new knowledge and skills necessary for future endeavors.
School should help students prepare for changing conditions by producing
a learning environment that teaches them to build on knowledge rather than just
learn facts to be stored in memory. This
instructional approach uses features of common situations and tasks to create
problem-solving activities. Paramount
to this approach is skill development including the ability to listen and to
be listened to. When the learner assumes
responsibility for learning and acting on that knowledge to which they apply
their experiences, the thinking process that evolves is enhanced and prepares
the community to be proactive and prevent crisis situations.
The
major objective is to explore team-based approaches and strategies for the education
of school staff and students about suicide and its prevention, using a new,
innovative, and comprehensive computer-based tool. This comprehensive tool was created by a multidisciplinary
development team approach that included psychologists, social workers, educators,
multi-media experts, and physicians. The use of computer applications allows for more rapid and effective
accomplishment of awareness orientation and a consistent approach to the information
content being presented. This tool consists
of four CD-ROM modules, each oriented to a different target audience (administrators
and staff, counselors, teachers, students, and parents) for direct utilization
(although for students, under the guidance of a trained counselor or teacher
serving as a facilitator), yet oriented for each audience to be part of a total
team commitment. The team approach is unique in that it encompasses the total school
community, from students to the highest levels of administration, as active
vested members of the team. The program
goal is to “educate to prevent suicide” and while building the prevention foundation
incorporates all facets of early recognition of danger signs and clues, pro-active
intervention, crisis management, and post crisis closure strategies.
Employing
critical thinking techniques and the principles of group dynamics, four basic
suicide prevention concepts are considered.
These include:
a)
Team-Based Strategies
Such strategies require problem identification,
team building processes, roles and responsibilities, and problem solving skills.
The tool emphasizes establishing the total school suicide prevention
team while maintaining an established, effective, ready, and fully trained crisis
management/intervention unit. The establishment
of a team-based approach where all members (in this case everyone in the school
community) feel included and vested in the prevention process, results in an
established community team commitment. Such team-based structures have been tested in industry with resulting
improved performance and effectiveness. The use of electronic performance support systems are integrated
into the educational aspects of each target audience orientation and reinforcement. Common content threads are incorporated for
each audience and presented in the appropriate depth and to the extent necessary.
Areas that are not applicable to a target audience are not included.
The tool utilizes scenarios, exercises,
and activities:
¨to provide practice and readiness (as for
the crisis management/intervention
team),
to be part of in-service programs (for administrators, staff, counselors and
teachers);
¨for counselors to use with teachers;
¨for teachers to use with students; and
¨to stimulate interest, participation, and
further exploration.
A
guide for parent awareness and involvement is included.
b)
Consistent Orientation
The orientation of all prevention team members
must be consistent. This necessitates
an understanding of the facts and the ability to recognize and dispel the myths
such as the mistaken belief that discussing suicide results in more suicides.
All target audiences need to appreciate suicide dangers and warning signs.
c) Creating the Trained Observer
The classroom teacher and the student have
been essentially excluded from the process. The classroom teacher is the logical front line observer and the
student can recognize problems with their peers. The roles of the administrator and staff, the counselor, the teacher,
and the student in the prevention process require definition.
d) Communication Before, During, and After a
Crisis
Communicating with the media, communicating
with parents, and communicating among and with teachers, students, counselors,
administrators and staff are all essential components in preventing, limiting,
controlling, and resolving suicide issues, and healing from a crisis.
The development and use of various techniques and questions for addressing
suicidal youth, the development of active listening skills, problem solving
and many other approaches are all required for prevention, but open and active
communication is the cornerstone which allows the prevention process to succeed.
The role of all of the school target audience
populations as key prevention team members is vital and therefore skills development
for each audience is essential.
Major
benefits are derived through understanding:
¨the effective use of school administrators
and staff, faculty, and students in the
prevention and
early proactive intervention processes;
¨the reinforcement techniques employed for
content awareness by all team
members (Mix
and Match MediaTM, facilitation with discussion, printable materials,
exercises, activities, scenarios);
¨the information gathering methods used in
prevention; and
¨the communication system elements which
result in effective intervention.
Empowering participants
to be active, vested members of the total school prevention process and team
brings us closer to the suicide prevention goal.
Copyright
Ó
2000 International Horizons Unlimited Ltd. All Rights Reserved
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