Running head: BEST PRACTICES IN SCHOOL COUNSELING 1

Best Practices in School Counseling: School Counselors and Student Suicide

Lauren Hudon

Montclair State University

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Best Practices in School Counseling: School Counselors and Student Suicide

According to Gibbons and Studer (2012) suicide rates have risen considerably in the past sixty

years, and in 2012 suicide was the third leading cause of death for students aged 10 to 19. A

more recent census by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published by the American

Foundation for Suicide Prevention, found that 1 in 6 high school students in the United States

reported having considered attempting suicide and 1 in 12 reported actually attempting suicide in

the previous 12 months (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Issue Brief, 2016). The

CDC also suggested that close to ninety percent of young people who die by suicide have a

mental health condition, however, most of these conditions are untreated, under-treated, or

undiagnosed.

These statistics prove that student suicide, while preventable, is a growing public health

issue that does not discriminate. After reminiscing on my own experience in high school, where

not one but three individuals successfully ended their lives by suicide, I met up with my former

school counselor to discuss the issue and the measures that were taken in 2011 after these crises

occurred. Through this conversation I learned that it was, and remains clear that pre and post

measures/ interventions are in high demand amongst school counselors, especially with high

school/ adolescent populations.

After interviewing the counselor at my high school, I found that student suicide is an

issue that is often placed in the hands of the school psychologist, but not until after an

unsuccessful attempt has been made. It is also not uncommon that a student will show no signs

of depression or suicide ideation. In fact, about 40% of students who complete suicide have

absolutely no diagnosable psychiatric disorder and are undistinguishable from their non- suicidal
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peers, which makes intervening before its too late even more difficult for school counselors

(Fineran, 2012).

It is also critically important to note that school personnel have a legal obligation to

provide some form of suicide prevention training to both faculty and staff, and school counselors

have all of the skills necessary to provide training on such a critical topic. That being said, school

counselors should be paying closer attention to this particular issue, and become educated on the

interventions and measures that can be put in place to help prevent suicide, or to be prepared for

crisis counseling if and when it does happen. They also need to be prepared to educate other staff

members who interact with students regularly, as another layer of defense when trying to identify

suicide ideation and prevent student suicides.

There is a sufficient amount of research surrounding student suicide that varies across

several topics such as prevention, intervention, training, etc. This research is valuable for any

school counselor looking to implement a suicide prevention program or to simply educate

oneself on the issue to be better prepared if a situation arises. I analyzed three specific articles

that touched upon student suicide and the school counselors role in educating school personnel,

and preventing such a crisis from happening.

Analysis and Synthesis

Based on my general understanding after reading and analyzing three scholarly articles:

Fineran (2012), Gibbons and Studer (2012), and Erikson and Abel (2013), there were three

distinct themes that arose from each scholarly work.

The central theme that stood out from Fineran (2012) was that student suicide has a

school wide effect that extends far beyond the individuals family and close peers. Any type of

unanticipated crisis in a school can create a sense of widespread chaos that completely
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undermines the safety and stability of the school as a whole (Fineran, 2012). This is important to

recognize, because counselors and staff need to be aware of not only the immediate

consequences of a student suicide, but also that the school system as a whole may be altered by

such a devastating, unanticipated event. Therefore, some sort of crisis management team should

be in place, and should be facilitated and trained by the school counselor and other support staff

such as the school psychologist or social worker.

Fineran (2012) also discussed how counselors play a critical role in developing crisis

intervention procedures, as they are familiar with the school system as a whole, and are

knowledgeable about outside community resources that may be of assistance in a crisis.

However, despite this idea that school counselors should play the leading role in a crisis, many

counselors reported feeling unprepared to manage any type of crisis in a school (Fineran, 2012).

The theme that arose from Gibbons and Studer (2012) was that there is an overall sense

of unpreparedness amongst school personnel when it comes to student suicide. Through the

context of the article, it was clear that there is a high need to educate teachers and other school

personnel on what to look out for when it comes to student suicide.

The third article by Erikson and Abel (2012) suggested a strong push for mental health

awareness as a form of suicide prevention. Surprisingly, they also included information from the

American School Counselor Association (ASCA), despite being a very clinical based article,

stating that school counselors play a number of roles in supporting students with mental health

needs. However, it was interesting that the article considered student suicide as both a mental

health issue that should be addressed in an outside mental health facility, as well as an issue that

can be handled within the confines of a school.

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These three themes: general unpreparedness of counselors and school staff, mental health

awareness, and the far extending effects of student suicide, are interrelated and are important to

analyze and discuss when attempting to understand the needs of a school system when it comes

to this particular issue.

First, the fact that many school counselors feel that they are not equipped, or unprepared

to handle a crisis such as a student suicide has many negative implications. It is the job of the

counselor to become educated on the issue so that they can manage a crisis situation if it arises.

School counselors should also be able to pass on their knowledge to other stakeholders so that

the school wide chaos that often comes with a student suicide can be controlled in order to

ensure the safety and stability of the school as a whole (Fineran, 2012).

Secondly, school counselors are often the most familiar with the community resources

that are available to students and families, which makes them a go-to individual for someone

who is suffering from any number of mental health issues, not just suicide ideation. The fact that

school counselors are trained mental health professionals allows them to approach student

suicide from both a school and mental health counseling perspective. If the issue is something

too severe for the school to handle, such as an undiagnosed mental illness that requires more

clinical help; they are the individuals who can reach out to community resources to get that

student the services that they need.

Comparison of Themes

Comparing these articles was interesting in that each author or set of authors had their

own view on what is the most essential way of addressing or creating a program that addresses

student suicide. Whether it is suicide prevention (before the fact), crisis postvention (after the

fact), or mental health awareness in general, each article posed critical questions and
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implications for school counselors. For example, all of the articles (in some form or another)

discussed how school counselors should have various types of crisis plans in place, they should

be members of a crisis intervention team, and should actively participate in professional

development events to increase knowledge on the topic of student suicide.

As previously stated, all of the articles mentioned above promoted a very high need for

some type of program whether it is a prevention, or crisis intervention program for a crisis such

as a student suicide. Fineran (2012) focused mostly on postvention strategies, or procedures that

prepare for the aftermath of a student suicide. The goals of any suicide postvention program in a

school are to provide support in order to minimize the emotional distress of suicide survivors (if

that is the case), as well as other students, reducing the likelihood of cluster suicides, and helping

to return the school to its normal routines (or as close to normal as possible).

Similarly, Erikson and Abel (2013) talked about a preventative intervention for both

students and parents, specifically a program that talks about depression and suicide awareness,

and Gibbons and Studer (2012) talked about a framework for a student suicide awareness in-

service training for school faculty and staff.

Interestingly, only one of the three articles discussed giving students mental health

awareness/ suicide awareness training. It was unclear whether the researchers simply felt that the

issue could be better handled by school personnel, or if students would be able to tolerate such a

sensitive issue. It is also possible that school administrators have a preconceived notion that

student suicide is a rare occurrence (which we are very much aware that is incorrect), so

broaching the topic to students who already have a high level of anxiety from the pressures of

being an adolescent, may do more harm than good.

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Stakeholders and Potential Challenges

A suicide in-service training would be one way of collaborating with key stakeholders

(e.g., administrators, teachers, parents, colleagues, community) to address student suicide in a

school. There are several preexisting models that provide school counselors with strategies for

implementing such a program that would impact students, faculty and staff, and the community;

however, most school districts have some sort of required training model from the Board of

Education that can be easily found on the districts website.

A potential challenge that one may encounter in implementing an in-service training

would be that an administrator may not understand the relevancy and importance of this type of

program, therefore the first step in combating this challenge would be to gain support from the

principal of the school, whose endorsement is valued amongst other key stakeholders (Gibbons

& Studer, 2012).

Furthermore, to increase the likelihood of a buy in from various stakeholders who

would join in the delivery of such training, the school counselor must take time to demonstrate

their knowledge of legal and ethical issues that surround student suicide as well as identifying

the objectives and a rationale for the program (Gibbons & Studer, 2012). For example, there are

several pieces of literature that highlight the importance of a suicide awareness program, by

outlining several cases where school personnel have been found to be criminally negligent in

student suicide court cases (Gibbons & Studer, 2012). If stakeholders are aware of the legal and

ethical implications that arise from a student suicide, they may be more inclined to participate in

such a training to protect oneself in case of such a situation.

Another challenge that is not as relevant for high school faculty and staff but important

for school counselors to keep in mind is suicide at the elementary level. School counselors in an
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elementary setting may have a more difficult time proposing an in-service training because

administrators are likely unaware of the potential for suicide in elementary aged students

(Gibbons & Studer, 2012). To combat such a challenge, counselors may need to collect data on

the rising suicide rate amongst 10 to 14 year olds, and present these findings to key stakeholders.

Another way to increase stakeholder support is to provide them with evidence that proves

that suicide awareness in-service trainings are successful even when they are given in a short

period of time, and it is not necessary to set aside a long block period for a workshop (Gibbons &

Studer, 2012). This is important because teachers, faculty, and staff have very time sensitive

schedules, and a short training would be ideal.

Adolescents spend a significant portion of their lives in school, and the personnel that

they interact with daily are in an excellent position to recognize signs of mental health conditions

and suicide risk. However, these individuals require effective training in order to be able to

acquire the skills necessary to intervene in such a critical situation. Therefore, an in-service

training where collaborating school staff could get a baseline understanding of suicide risk would

have the most impact if participants included a range of staff members not just limited to

teachers and administrators etc. In addition, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, coaches, secretaries,

support staff, custodial staff, and other individuals who interact with students daily should also

be encouraged to attend, as this increases the chances of a staff member noticing odd or even

suicidal behaviors, and reporting it before the situation becomes worse.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), training school

personnel on the issue of student suicide as well as aiding them in adopting comprehensive

school policies are two critical steps in reducing the rate of student suicides (Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention Issue Brief, 2016). Mandated school policies related to suicide
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prevention and training for key school stakeholders have been made a public priority, as we are

now aware that suicide affects not only the individual but also the community as a whole.

Several states, including New Jersey, mandate some sort of suicide prevention training (as

recommended above) for school personnel and stakeholders. There is a bill called the Jason Flatt

Act, which is a piece of legislation that has been adopted by many states, which requires by law

that school personnel receive at least two hours of suicide prevention training. The legislation

also requires that schools come up with a list of approved training materials that include skills

such as: identifying appropriate mental health services within the school and within the larger

community, and how to refer students and or their families to such these services (Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention Issue Brief, 2016)

Key stakeholders need to be educated on the mental health of children and adolescents,

specifically on the fact that the onset of mental illness typically begins to show during these

critical years. School personnel and key student stakeholders have an extremely critical role to

play in identifying those students who may be showing signs of a mental health condition or

even suicidal behaviors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Issue Brief, 2016). Giving

stakeholders a basic understanding of suicide risk and behaviors associated with mental health

risk in an in-service training, gives the school personnel the skills to protect both the individual

student and the school community as a whole from a very preventable crisis.
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References

Erikson, A., & Abel, N.R. (2013). A high school counselors leadership in providing school-wide

screenings for depression and enhancing suicide awareness. Professional School

Counseling, 16(5). 283-289.

Fineran, K. (2012). Suicide postvention in schools: the role of the school counselor. Journal of

Professional Counseling, Practice, Theory, and Research, 39(2). 14-28.

Gibbons, M., & Studer, J. (2012). Suicide Awareness Training for Faculty and Staff: A Training

Model for School Counselors. Professional School Counseling, 11(4). 272-276.

State Laws: Suicide Prevention in Schools (K-12) (Issue brief). (2016).