Facebook Provides First-of-Its-Kind Service to Help Prevent Suicides

In partnership with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, Facebook has announced a new service attempting to prevent suicides across North America. The service enables Facebook users to report a suicidal comment posted by a friend using either the Report Suicidal Content link https://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=suicidal_content or the links found throughout the site.

The poster of the comment will immediately receive an e-mail from Facebook encouraging them to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or to click on a link to begin a confidential chat with a crisis worker. The project is a collaboration among the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Facebook.

In another story, a new survey by University of Washington researchers has found that, while about one of nine youths attempt suicide by the time they graduate from high school, nearly 40 percent of those who said they had tried suicide reported their first attempt was before they entered high school. The study was published in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health http://jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(11)00127-3/abstract.

Sources: http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1112125820.aspx
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_119226.html

Senators Push for Reversal of Policy on Condolence Letters

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and 10 other senators are calling on President Obama to reverse the current policy of not sending condolence letters to families of service members who take their own lives. Although the White House promised in 2009 to review the policy, there has been no progress as of yet. "Unfortunately, perpetuating a policy that denies condolence letters to families of service members who die by suicide only serves to reinforce this stigma by overshadowing the contributions of an individual's life with the unfortunate nature of his or her death," the letter says. "It is simply unacceptable for the United States to be sending the message to these families that somehow their loved ones' sacrifices are less important." (CNN, 5/26/11)

Follow-Up Study of Online Suicide Prevention & Gatekeeper Training Simulation

Posted at http://darkestcloset.blogspot.com/

 

A follow-up study conducted at 68 U.S. universities and colleges found that At-Risk, an online gatekeeper training course for faculty and staff, increases the number of students exhibiting signs of psychological distress whom faculty and staff refer to their counseling center.

At-Risk is a simulation that teaches learners to identify, approach, and refer students exhibiting signs of psychological distress, including depression and thoughts of suicide. The study included 420 participants who completed an online survey after taking the training and were then surveyed again 3-4 months later.

AFSP and SPRC add Parents as Partners: A Suicide Prevention Guide for Parents to the Best Practices Registry

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and SPRC have added this nine-page booklet produced by the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) to Section III: Awareness/Outreach programs of the Best Practices Registry. The booklet includes information about depression, including its symptoms and causes; information about the warning signs of suicide; recommendations for how to address possible suicide risk in your children; and sources of additional information.

It is available from Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) for a small fee. Programs listed in Section III of the BPR address specific objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and have been reviewed for accuracy, safety, likelihood of meeting objectives, and adherence to prevention program guidelines. For more information, visit http://www2.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/ParentsAsPartners.pdf.

Reposted at http://darkestcloset.blogspot.com/