Thursday, September 13

Suicide Prevention and Self-Injury

New Resources:
Suicide Prevention and Intervention (Lieberman, R. (2007, September 12). Youth Suicide Prevention Program. Presented at LAUSD PSW district training at the California Endowment Center):
  • October-November - highest incidences of suicide and suicide attempts in schools
  • emerging trend - shift from firearms to strangulation (i.e. the "choking game") as access to firearms becomes more difficult / regulated for youth
  • importance of the contagion factor
  • community models of crisis intervention do not fit well in schools
  • "widening the circle of care"
  • depression and hopelessness in suicide - similarities in experience - violence against self vs. violence against others - in either situation there are feelings of disconnection and hopelessness / needs are not being met - where is the overlap?
  • root issue: students need to connect and feel a sense of belonging
Self-Injury (Lieberman, R. (2007, September 12). Youth Suicide Prevention Program. Presented at LAUSD PSW district training at the California Endowment Center):
  • Finally, they've stopped calling it self-mutilation (for the most part)
  • again, the importance of the contagion factor - as more evidence speaks to the detrimental effects of group assemblies, magazine articles, and talk shows that intend to decrease the stigma, but generally provide more of a "how-to", is this research having any effect on the number of pieces in the media?
  • don't laugh - I learned to cut by reading an article in 17 Magazine when I was in high school - it is a valid concern
  • correlates with control and structure / comorbidity with eating disorders / reflect on how I choose to lose and then regain a sense of control in my own life
  • do not discourage SI, threaten hospitalization, use punishment, act shocked or say anything to cause guilt or shame, agree to hold SI behavior as confidential, make deals in an effort to stop SI, make promises you can't keep
  • however maladaptive, this is the student's primary coping mechanism and it should not be taken away from them - importance of working together to find more healthy coping mechanisms, but accepting SI until that point is reached
  • motivational interviewing (MI) and stages of change model

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