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Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Resources...Along with Some ESL/EFL St. Patrick's Day Goodies to Cheer Us Up!!


I’ve been away too long, I know it! I have some great reasons for my online absence, but more on that in a moment.  First, lots of interesting tidbits to share this month so let’s just jump right into it!  My counseling post today will feature some of the latest resources I’ve come across for crisis intervention and suicide prevention.  My ESL/EFL post will have a fun St. Patrick’s Day activity that you can use with your students as well as some resources for students new to the US.  More on all this in a bit, but first, let’s start with some updates. And as always, we've included a lot of helpful resources- just click on the green links which will take you right to an article, video, or product you can use.

 

BILINGUAL LEARNER UPDATES

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So this post has been verrrrrrrry delayed- it was supposed to air the first week in Janaury along with my Janaury eblast newsletter.  Needless to say, neither the post or eblast went out in January!  The reason: I have been swamped with both presenting at the Texas School Counseling Association Conference in Arlington and with winning the 2016 Texas CREST Award with my colleagues!!! We were so honored to receive the CREST award for excellence in creating and implementing a comprehensive school counseling program! 

Speaking of the Texas School Counseling Association (TSCA) Conference, it was so wonderful to be able to share all our group counseling info with other counselors- especially on the topic of working with ESL students and running a Culture Exploreres group!

Here are some photos of our Culture Explorers group presentation at the TSCA conference below!

              

 

 

ESL/EFL POST- CULTURE EXPLORERS AND ST. PATRICK'S DAY

The students in my Culture Explorers class love to learn about St. Patrick's Day! Whether you run counseling groups for ESL/EFL students or you teach them cultural lessons in conjunction with your English lessons, knowledge of major holidays is such an important part of feeling comfortable and accepted within a culture.  It is a great way for newcomers to gain understanding of that culture.  Moreover, this is something that all young nationals get as they go through the school system in their own culture, but our newcomers often miss out on this important cultural knowledge when they transition in after all the fun grade school holiday instruction is finished.   Here is our favorite St. Paddy’s Day activity, as well as some others to carry you through March…

 

COUNSELING POST: CRISIS INTERVENTION & SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES

And now onto two more somber, but very necessary topics- crisis intervention and suicide prevention!  Dealing with student crises is a sad and crucial part of our job as school or clinical counselors.  My school counseling office has a set protocol for dealing with student crises, or "3 Hurts Emergencies" as we like to call them.  Whenever a student, parent, or staff member sends to/comes to us with a student emergency, we drop whatever we are doing to deal with it right away.  An important part of our counseling program is that we thoroughly train our students and staff from the day they walk through the front doors about the "3 Hurts Emergency" and how they MUST come straight to us with an emergency.  Thus, we rarely get false alarms.  In fact, this school year alone, I’ve handled over 75 crisis situations, of varying severity, at the Title 1 public school where I work as a school counselor.  So, for that reason, I've included our crisis steps here in this link in case you don't have a process for students who make serious outcries.  In addition, I've included a link to our Emergency Notification for Parents Form and our Student Safety Plan. 

Another sad but very frequent reality that counselors have to deal with is suicide prevention.  Suicidal Ideation (thinking about, considering, or planning for suicide) is something every counselor will come into contact with as they treat their students/clients.  For that reason, I’d like to include some of the best resources I’ve come across that will help you reach out to your kids who are battling this monster. 

New York Times writer, David Brooks, wrote this insightful and poignant piece, "The Irony of Despair."   Brooks shares “Jennifer Michael Hecht’s two big counterideas that she hopes people contemplating potential suicides will keep in their heads,”—these 2 ideas are real gems that you might consider sharing with your own people. 

The second resource is an article from the Pulitzer Prize winning magazine, The Gazette, out of Colorado.  This article gives some great facts about suicide and then goes on to describe a suicide prevention program that a local school district is using to have peers get the message across about warning signs and prevention. 

Here’s a link to an amazing free suicide prevention manual, especially created for high school personnel (but just as good for middle school/college ages as well as the clinical scene) that you can download. 

And the final resource we have to share is from one of our favorite online video resources, Wellcast.  Here is their wonderful, wonderful video to share with anyone you know who is battling thoughts of suicide.

Remember, to access any of the resources mentioned above, just click on the green link.  Please comment below to share any strategies/interventions you have for helping a child in crisis-- the more tools we all have to help kids, the better. 

This brings me to the end of March's post.  Check back here again next month for my post on  tips for being the best intern or intern supervisor you can be (it really is coming)!  As always, you can find out about Bilingual Learner’s latest promotions, free stuff, or my counseling/ESL adventures by following my Facebook Page, Instagram Page, and Pinterest Page!  

 

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