QV offers suicide awareness programs

Talking, training, testing and treatment are keys to preventing suicide in adolescents, area leaders say.

New state requirements mean Quaker Valley and other public school teachers statewide in grades 6 to 12 are to be trained to recognize symptoms of stress and risk factors for suicide. The rules will build on a longtime district policy designed to address potentially self-destructive behavior, officials say.

In addition to having a policy for 27 years, two years ago Quaker Valley updated its administrative procedures, said Sally Hoover, director of pupil services.

“All psychology, counseling and nursing staffs are trained,” she said.

The district’s policy also encouraged interaction with staff members and the use of community resources. Other options are available to parents to help their children through difficult times: Youth Connect and TeenScreen.

Youth Connect took shape in 2005 in response to the drug deaths of two students and the district’s organization of a drug convocation in 2003.

“You have to be willing to talk about these problems,” said Susan Kaminski, who has been with Youth Connect’s steering committee since the group formed. “You have to quit being embarrassed and face the fact that (suicide) is a potential risk.”

Members of Youth Connect come from community nonprofit organizations, the school district and Sewickley Academy.

“It’s hard to measure how successful we’ve been because we don’t know what didn’t happen,” Kaminski said, “but we’ve gotten good feedback.”

Each year at Sewickley Academy, faculty and staff are reminded of the risk factors that may indicate a student is in distress, said Shannon Mulholland, director of support services.

“We have a multidisciplinary crisis response team in the event of an emergency” – in or out of school, she said.

A school counselor, nurse, a consulting psychologist and Mulholland are available if a crisis situation occurs. She credits the academy’s advisory program, the small class size and the balanced schedule allowing students to have access to supportive adults. The topics of suicide and related issues also are addressed in the health curriculum.

“The slightest bit of concern gets our processes going,” she said.

TeenScreen is a program offered out of the Outreach Teen & Family Services, Inc., in Mt. Lebanon, which provides counseling for those ages 12 to 21. Sewickley-based Samaritan Counseling Center has used the TeenScreen program in past years. The self-guided assessment can be used to determine areas of concern for teens and their parents.

“It’s easy to do and non-threatening,” said Carl Baughman, the center’s executive director.

Once a parent has given consent, the student responds to the online questionnaire, which will help determine factors for depression and other mental illnesses. Once the test is evaluated by a clinician, the family can decide the first steps of treatment.

“It’s an excellent intervention tool for early detection,” said Emily Hime, outreach and program manager and therapist for the Mt. Lebanon center.

The program is used in the Mt. Lebanon middle schools and high school and in Seton-La Salle.

The test is free and available at the outreach services office and at other agencies if they are contracted to perform the assessment. Afterwards, parents are notified and a follow up done if there is reason for concern.

“There is case management on the back end for those needing more services,” Hime said.

Baughman, who has directed the work of Samaritan for 23 years, commends the ease of TeenScreen.

“If I had young teens, I would have them taking it,” he said.

Dona S. Dreeland is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.