Resource Tag: GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS

During a span of about three months in 1994, three students associated with a state-supported residential high school for gifted students committed suicide. This article documents the responses of that school to these events. (2 refs.)

In this paper, different aspects of the development & implementation of a local youth suicide prevention project in Belguim are described. The project focuses on the school community. Key target persons are teachers, counsellors, welfare & health care workers & educators in institutions for young persons. Evaluation by all participants focused on outcomes such as […]

This paper describes the development of a knowledge measure for the evaluation of Preparing for Crisis (PFC), a proactive training program for suicide postvention. The 25-item true-false test was administered pre & post each of 12 training sessions. 205 high school personnel who completed the tests showed significant improvement in overall test scores & on […]

In 1997 the BC Suicide Prevention Program developed & implemented a province-wide needs assessment to determine the current state of knowledge, skill & levels of perceived support among school personnel in the area of youth suicide prevention. A total of 2612 surveys were distributed to school gatekeepers throughout the province with an overall response rate […]

This clip reports on a Minnesota court case in which it was ruled that a guidance counsellor & the school district could not be sued in the suicide death of a 9th-grade female. The student had told a counsellor she was thinking about killing herself; four months later she did so. The parents claimed the […]

This flipchart-style pamphlet was designed to help teachers & counselors identify those students who are at high risk of suicidal behavior. It outlines: influences & causes of suicidal behavior; warning signs of suicidal risk (physical, mental, social, emotional); risk assessment & intervention strategies; intervention do’s and don’ts; ethical/legal considerations in preventing a suicidal act; examples […]

This article reports survey results of 233 school guidance counselors, 42% of whom reported that grief counseling services were available in their schools. This 1993 study also determined if such services were initiated by a specific death, if services were ongoing, & the primary provider of services. Findings indicate there is a real need for […]

Poland discusses how a supportive response from a guidance counsellor or teacher may deter the adolescent thinking about suicide. School staff are advised that they can help in a number of ways including: listening & hearing, taking talk of suicide seriously, trusting their own judgment if they think a student may be suicidal, taking action, […]

Also published in the Journal of Safe Management of Disruptive & Assaultive Behavior, v.1, no.4, (April 1993), p.12.

This manual is designed to help school staff, families & community agencies work together to provide a program that encourages healthy behaviour & lifestyle choices for students. The first 3 chapters discuss students & learning environments in the 90s. Chapters 4-6 describe the SAFE program & its implementation. Chapters 7-11 present prevention & intervention strategies. […]

Part 1 of this guide provides background information necessary to develop a crisis team. Part 2 assists in the development of a crisis plan, staff education & establishing community contacts. Part 3 provides information & techniques for crisis & grief counselling for children. Part 4 outlines 32 individual, group & class activities for various age […]

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Suicide attempts or suicidal crises have received less attention from counselling professionals than deaths by suicide. This article provides suggestions for responses to a student’s suicide attempt at 2 levels: a) managing the impact of the suicidal act upon school staff & students; & b) preparing for & managing the suicidal student’s return to school. […]

The use of poetry in school counselling is discussed. Free verse written by a student can often accelerate the counselling process. Three student poems are used as illustration: a girl’s poem about her father’s death, a girl’s expression of suicidal feelings, & another girl’s poem of confusion about a gay person in her family. Often […]

This manual guides youth service agencies & school in early intervention with adolescents who engage in at-risk behaviour. The basics of contracting with schools, program structure, networking, program evaluation, staffing, staff development, & funding are included. Detailed policies & procedures that Youth Services of Tulsa found most useful when the program was initiated in 1972 […]

A collaborative approach to school-based response that incorporates multidisciplinary teams of school personnel and a broad range of community professionals is presented. The elements of an organizational model for a school-based crisis intervention plan and techniques to institute and train crisis teams are discussed. (26 refs.)

This documents presents the key results of a survey of southwestern Alberta school staff who answered questions on knowledge about suicide & awareness of training opportunities. 4 recommendations concerning staff training in suicide prevention are offered. Appendices include the paper, “Comprehensive Youth Suicide in Alberta: a Model for Understanding”, the questionnaire & full results for […]

This booklet covers counselling & intervention strategies for preventing adolescent suicide. It describes myths & miscoinceptions, behavioural indications, verbal cues, motivation & cognitive distortions, depression, & personality traits. In a lengthy prevention section the book describes counselling, prevention strategies for schools & communities. Crisis management section describes assessing lethality, questions to ask, notifications to make. […]

This guide is meant to train adults to encourage positive emotional development among adolescents & to raise the awareness level of all adults who come into contact with youth who may be suicidal. The Guide is divided into 10 sections covering topics such as: warning signs; intervention; postvention; & helping survivors. Appendices include supplemental activities, […]

The authors reviewed the literature relevant to school-based suicide programs & identified the components that are descriptive of comprehensive & systematic programs. Using this review, a checklist was compiled to enable school counsellors to compare their programs with the current views of the prevention of teen suicide (this checklist is included in the article). The […]

This article contends that grieving adolescents have their own unique considerations & that they are often classifed incorrectly with children or adults. It explores adolescent grief reactions, development factors affecting grief, abnormal grief reactions, intervention strategies, & crisis situations. To aid in starting an adolescent grief support group, a descriptive outline for 14 sessions is […]

Project 10, a model school program that addresses the needs of gay & lesbian students, is described. The focus of the model is education, reduction of verbal & physical abuse, suicide prevention, & dissemination of accurate AIDS information. These goals are carried out through workshops for faculty, support personnel & campus support groups. The goal […]

Several concerns of gay, lesbian & bisexual youth & their advocates are highlighted. These concerns include the focus on attempted & completed suicides among homosexual youth. Harbeck argues that this focus may cause adolescents exploring their sexual identity to conclude that suicide is the consequence of being homosexual. Some other issues that are addressed are: […]