Andrea Holt, LMFT
Certified Addiction Specialist, Certified EMDR Clinician
Andrea Holt is a mental health professional with over 20 years of experience. She currently works as a therapist and mental health consultant for various organizations.
Since COVID-19 first arrived in the United States last March, I’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of young people age 11 to 25 dealing with issues stemming from the pandemic. Anxiety, depression, stress—all of these have seemingly become more prevalent than before. As adults, it’s our responsibility to both recognize these challenges and support young people and students with developing skills to overcome them in a healthy manner.
In addition to being at the heart of back-to-school season, September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in the United States. As an educator, you can play a vital role in helping to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Additionally, your influence and conversation may help steer students in a positive direction.
While no one expects you to have the necessary training to fully recognize and treat students who may be having suicidal thoughts, here are three ways you can support students who may be having suicidal thoughts.
Be an Active, Engaged Listener
In my experience, being a good listener is a simple action that goes a long way toward establishing a meaningful connection with someone. If you’re concerned about a student’s mental well-being, paying close attention to the language they use is very important. Phrases like “The world would be better without me” and “I wish I wouldn’t wake up tomorrow” are cause for concern and should be treated seriously.
Taking an active interest in students’ lives can also be helpful. If they seem troubled, it’s fine to say, “I don’t know exactly what to do, but I’m happy to talk with you and listen and see if we can figure out how to get you help.” You don’t need to have the answers immediately. Simply asking the questions and sitting with a student who is upset or distraught about something is a significant intervention in and of itself.
Assign Time-Oriented Tasks
If you’re worried that a student might harm themselves imminently, you need to ask for expert professional help as soon as possible. But if the student’s comments sound more passive, giving them a simple future-oriented task is a great way to keep them engaged. This is also an effective way to gauge their mental state. For example, you could ask them to come in early to help set up the classroom for a group activity or give them something to be in charge of the next day. If they respond with something like “I won’t be here tomorrow,” definitely alert your school’s psychologist or counselor. If, on the other hand, they are receptive to a time-oriented task and actively participate, they are most likely not planning on harming themselves anytime soon.
Take Advantage of Available Resources
Again, no one expects you to be an expert on mental health. Yet there are dozens of great resources out there you can explore to get a better handle on this complex and important issue. QPR Institute is a great place to start. QPR offers training to help individuals in a position of authority become better informed on suicide warning signs and how to best engage and assess the student.
While we all continue to cope with the effects of the pandemic, being cognizant of one another’s mental health is of tremendous importance to our sense of community and overall well-being. By taking the time to proactively and positively engage the students you teach or interact with, you’ll be helping everyone as we work toward a safe and healthy future.
