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Suicide Prevention for Educators

Safe Messaging

Course Description

Districts that are more aggressively taking steps to prevent suicide in their schools may engage in a variety of strategies. It is critical that educators and school personnel who are leading these initiatives are fully aware of current safe messaging guidelines. Even with our best intentions, failing to follow these guidelines may have unintended negative consequences.

What You’ll Learn

Participants will be able to summarize best practices for safe messaging about suicide.

Participants will be able to describe how certain practices for reporting and communicating about suicide can increase the risk of suicide contagion.

Participants will be able to locate resources and information about a statewide youth suicide prevention PSA contest for high school students.

Learning Assests

Note: Please know that in 3 months, you may receive emails about future trainings or evaluations regarding the prevent suicide NJ portal as an evaluation as we would welcome your feedback about the use of this training in your life/work.

Facilitators

Matthew Wintersteen, Ph.D

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior Director of Research, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University; Executive Board, Prevent Suicide PA, Philadelphia, PA

Terri A. Erbacher, Ph.D

Clinical Associate Professor, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Author of Suicide in Schools: A Practitioner’s Guide to Multi-Level Prevention, Assessment, Intervention, and Postvention