More than sad: Suicide prevention education for teachers and other school personnel

Developed by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, More Than Sad: Suicide Prevention Education for Teachers and Other School Personnel is designed to help educators better understand suicidal behavior in adolescents, including its causes, treatment and prevention. The program is built around two 25-minute DVDs: More Than Sad: Preventing Teen Suicide and More Than Sad: Teen Depression. (In the current program, Teen Depression is used to show adults how a potentially life-threatening mental disorder can present in teens.) The facilitator materials are downloadable from the AFSP website and include a Facilitator’s Guide, slides for teacher trainers, instructional manual for program participants, and other resources. An expert advisory panel guided the development of the program. The materials were updated in 2015. The program is also suitable for parents and other adults who care for or work with youth.

The program answers the following questions:

How big a problem is youth suicide?
How can teachers help prevent youth suicide?
What puts teens at risk for suicide?
What treatments are available?
How can teachers identify at-risk students?
How else can schools decrease risk?