Sucide Prevention: Connecting EVERY Student

Suicide Prevention: Connecting EVERY Student

Suicide remains the 2nd leading cause of death among youth ages 10-24. Students' mental health is a priority. School Counselors teach resiliency skills and potentially prevent suicide, supporting ALL students. Learn tools to make this difficult topic manageable. Learn how to decrease SI among students by proactively teaching coping skills and other tier-leveled systems of support in your comprehensive school counseling program. Build on what you are already doing. Identify suicide prevention interventions. Identify ways to find your students’ voices and save lives by connecting every student with a Trusted Adult. Many ideas and resources shared for all grade levels.

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize recent data, statistics and research related to suicide rates among youth. 

2. Identify tier 1 and 2 supports for suicide prevention as part of a comprehensive school counseling program. 

3. Develop a comprehensive plan for suicide prevention and ideas to connect every student in your building.

About the Presenter

Angela Avery is a school counselor and department leader at Sanford Middle School in southern Maine. She has been a counselor for 20 years. She is an adjunct faculty member teaching school counseling graduate students at the University of Southern Maine. She has been an active member and former chair of the Maine School Counselor Association (MESCA), and was selected as the Maine School Counselor of the Year in 2016. She serves on MESCA and ASCA’s DEI committees. She has been proactively working to prevent suicide for many years through her career and has presented several times on this topic at the ASCA Conference.