Identifying and Responding to Suicide Risk in Schools

Schools provide a unique environment in which to identify and respond to youth suicide risk. A comprehensive approach to school-based suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention requires a multilevel systemic plan for screening suicide risk, programs that increase awareness of suicide risk factors and warning signs, access to community-based interventions including psychotherapies and hospitalization, and school-based responses to suicide deaths. Prevention programs with empirical support include the Good Behavior Game for elementary school students and Signs of Suicide for middle and high school students. Once youth have been identified as being at-risk for suicide, either by a peer or an adult, there are three categories of intervention: suicide risk monitoring, outpatient psychotherapy, and hospitalization. After hospitalization, a school re-entry meeting is essential for an affirmative and healthy transition back to school. Identifying and responding to youth suicide risk requires collaboration between school-based mental health professionals and community providers.