Office of Suicide & Violence Prevention

OFFICE OF SUICIDE & VIOLENCE PREVENTION NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Quarterly Newsletter The Myriad Ways Available for Assessing and Preventing Suicide In this issue: Page Education and Training for Parents, Local Series ……………………..…………………………………………… 1 Overview of Crisis Action School Toolkit-Suicide (CAST-S) ……………….…………..……………………... 2 Bullying and Suicide Revisited: What schools can do now ………………………………………................. 3 Suicide Prevention Legislation: What School Psychologists Need to Know and DO! ………….... 5 Technology in Suicide Prevention………………………………………………………………………………………..… 8 Interview with David Jobes, Ph.D. ……………………………………………………………………………………..…… 9 IMPORTANT DAY FOR PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY UPCOMING LOCAL PRESENTATION: Sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP; afsp.org), February 21, 2018 is “Florida On March 12, 2018, the Day at the Capitol.” AFSP Capitol Days are an opportunity City of Pembroke Pines will for constituents to meet one-on-one with legislators and host an evening event for discuss suicide prevention and personal anecdotes as to the parents, grand-parents, importance. Additional activities are planned for educators, youth participants. Other states have Capitol Days, including IN, advocates, and any other UT, TN, ID, MO, MA, NE, LA, & NY. interested individuals. Dr. Poland will present on the EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR PARENTS topic of Raising Positive Children: Helping Your OF SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN Child Cope with Stress in Local Series: Pembroke Pines, Florida Today’s Challenging World. Over the past few months, the NSU Pines Charter West Campus. The two- Office of Suicide and Violence hour event focused on how parents The event will be held at the Prevention (SVP) has been working can recognize stress and early warning Charles F. Dodge City Center. Parking and with the City of Pembroke Pines to signs in their children as well as admission are free. provide education and training to common symptoms of mood and parents of school-aged children. In anxiety disorders that often manifest More information about the November, Principal Mike Cas-tellano beginning in middle school. The event can be found by invited Dr. Dave Cox to speak to a discussion additionally focused on calling 954-450-1030. group of 130 parents at Pembroke concrete suggestions and NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UN IVERSITY recommendations for parents – how about suicide and violence in schools training and education, especially as it to talk to their children, how to teach and what school administration can relates to identifying and responding and reinforce positive co-ping skills, do to protect their students. The to the stresses of school-aged and how to respond and support principals, vice principals, and other children. when their children face difficulties. school administrators in attendance Following the presentation, Dr. shared their exper-iences, specific Scott Poland and Dr. Cox were invited challenges their schools have faced, by Pembroke Pines City Comissioner, and the approaches they have used in Iris Siple, to attend the January the past. Over the course of the Principal’s Round-table. Dr. Poland meeting, it became clear that there is provided information and research a continued need for, and interest in, OVERVIEW OF CRISIS ACTION SCHOOL TOOLKIT-SUICIDE Dr. Scott Poland and his wife Dr. the Montana Office of Public Donna Poland, a former school Instruction, the School Administrators principal, have recently comp- leted Association of Montana, the National the Crisis Action School School Alliance of Mental Illness for Montana Toolkit-Suicide (CAST-S) for the state and the Big Sky Psychiatry Council. The of Montana. The CAST-S is designed Toolkit is arranged in four sections: to help all Montana schools Introduction, Prevention, Interven-tion implement the 2017 leg-islation that and Postvention. The Toolkit provides requires schools to have a suicide 32 tools for educators to use and many response plan. Unfortunately, reusable forms. Scott Poland met with Montana has consis-tently been rated Montana School Psychology leaders at as a top-five state for suicides and they the recent NASP conference (Feb.) and face many challenges due to rural area they reported that the CAST-S was a and isolation, a shortage of mental true gift to their state. Scott Poland has health facilities, stigma attached to been writing about, and working on, seeking mental health services, many suicide prevention in schools since the guns that are not safely stored, and 1980’s and the CAST-S is the the unique needs of 11 Native culmination of his extensive American tribes. experience. Although the CAST-S is The CAST-S is based on the tailored for Montana, the information Polands’ collective 60+ years of is valuable for all schools. The CAST-S working in schools. They inter- viewed can be accessed at the following sites: many professionals in Mon-tana and NAMI: www.namimt.org Big Sky Regional Counsel of Child & worked closely with the Suicide Adolescent Psychiatry: Prevention Coordinator for the state, www.bigskyaacap.org/cast-s.html 2 Nova Southeastern University BULLYING AND SUICIDE REVISITED: WHAT SCHOOLS CAN DO NOW Scott Poland and Richard Lieberman The research is clear on youth butes to the silent misery of millions with regard to mental illness and suicide: Mental illness plays a of students and puts some at adverse childhood experiences significant role. Suicide is most often increased risk for suicidal thoughts (SPRC, 2011). the result of untreated or and behaviors. Bullying is harmful to A more causal relationship undertreated mental illness, and all children, of all ages and cultures. between bullying and suicide has when certain disorders coexist in (Lieberman & Cowan, 2011). been both implied and fostered in youth, particularly depression and the media. This year’s 13 Reasons impulse disorders (such as alcohol Why, violating every known tenet of and substance abuse, non-suicidal safe messaging, depicted suicide as self-injury, or conduct disorder), the a likely outcome of bullying and as a Involvement in bullying creates risk for suicidal ideation and way of getting back at others. Suicide barriers to learning and is associated attempts increases dramatically. is not about revenge because the with a host of negative outcomes, Adverse childhood experiences can suicidal youth is not thinking about including increased risk of substance play a role, and these include living others but, instead, wants to end un- abuse, delinquency, suicide, truancy, of poverty; neglect, physical abuse, endurable pain. People magazine ran mental health problems, physical sexual abuse, and emotional abuse; a cover story about Phoebe Prince injury, and decreased academic per- and living with a mentally ill or under the dramatic banner, “Bullied formance (Rossen & Cowan, 2012). substance abusing family member. to Death” (People, April, 2010) giving Victims of cyberbullying are also at Precipitating events can ignite the millions of young readers who greater risk for depression. The fuel of mental illness, particularly identified with Phoebe an option. individual at highest risk for suicidal those involving loss such as a Sadly, this narrative, crystalized by ideation and behaviors is the youth romantic loss, a death by suicide, or the term bullycide, has led to who has been both the perpetrator a loss of dignity. Situational stressors numerous lawsuits against schools. and the victim, and risk is increased can play a role, such as an academic Litigation and Schools dramatically if there has been or disciplinary crisis at school or an A number of school districts have preexisting psycho-pathology. The argument with a parent at home. If a been sued, as parents claimed that Suicide Prevention Resource Center perfect storm begins to mount, the the bullying their child received at (SPRC) published a brief on suicide presence of a firearm can have school was a proximal cause to the and bullying that reviewed more traumatic consequences. In short, suicide of their child. We have than 40 research studies. The brief suicide is complex, and in the followed all of these cases closely, concludes that there is a strong aftermath of suicide, no one person, and have been involved in many, and association between bullying and and no one thing, is ever to blame. we offer the following general suicide; however, no causal Bullying and Suicide reflections. Schools must take any relationships were found in the The research on bullying is also report of bullying very seriously, research, as it is extremely difficult to quite clear. Bullying is predatory and provide consequences for the bully, rule out the myriad of the factors antagonistic behavior that contri- support for the victim, and above all, 3 Nova Southeastern University document all actions. Parents in force that includes administration, Ensure that staff members do not these lawsuits have not produced mental health, parent, and student try to make the bully and victim work it out. The bully and victim significant documentation of their input. The task force will be most should be separated and the bully notification to schools that their effective when it links with given consequences and the victim given support. child was being bullied. Issues in community and regional resources. Staff needs to let the bully know these lawsuits have focused on “in The following are recommendations that they and other staff will be loco parentis” and whether or not a that educators can implement to watching and consequences will

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