May 19, 2010

Senioritis. It’s May, and this slang term is being thrown around in high schools across America. But for many seniors, their last year in school can be anything but relaxing. Graduating students face challenges and choices that can cause them to feel anxious, sad or confused. So before students don their caps and gowns and march into the real world, it is important to check up on their emotional well-being.

In observance of Mental Health Month this May, Military Pathways is launching the Signs of Suicide booster program, a new initiative designed for graduating seniors at Department of Defense Education Activity schools and other high schools with a high concentration of students from military families.

The release of the Signs of Suicide program is especially appropriate in light of recent studies by RAND/National Military Families Association and the National Center for Children in Poverty that found that children in military families suffer from more emotional and behavioral difficulties than those in the general population. 

“We are pleased to add the booster kit to the roster of materials and services we provide,” said Kerry O'Connell-Vale, program manager of Military Pathways. “One of our goals is to continue to develop resources for military families and children. The booster program reaches kids at a critical time of transition, which can be full of excitement but also very stressful.” 

The booster program acts as a “mental health check-up” and refresher course to the SOS high school program. The initial SOS program has been implemented in thousands of schools nationwide and is designed to educate students in their first years of high school so they are able to identify the symptoms of depression and suicide in themselves or their friends.

The program also encourages help-seeking through the use of the ACT technique – Acknowledge the problem, let your friend know you Care, and Tell a trusted adult. The booster program graduates the ACT technique by replacing the Tell with Treatment.

The main message is: Help the person you are concerned about get Treatment.

Like the high school program, the booster highlights the relationship between mental illness and suicide, teaching students that suicide is most often a fatal response to a treatable disorder, such as depression.

“If I had participated in the SOS program, I definitely would have found out that I needed help,” said Heather, a college student who suffered from depression in high school. “When I went to college and got away from my parents I thought everything would be just fine. One thing that no one ever taught me is that change is a real trigger for depression.”

Heather acknowledged that if she had participated in the SOS program she would have been able to educate her family members on mental health issues because they thought her depression symptoms were just a phase. She also said that she would have sought help sooner.

The booster kit includes screening forms, parent and student resources, an implementation guide, and a DVD. The DVD portrays individuals sharing their real-life experiences with depression. In addition to providing information about suicide, the kit includes information about non-suicidal self-injury which is a problem among high school students. 

The program is available free-of-charge to all DoDEA and military-impacted high schools that have implemented the SOS high-school program in the past. For more information, e-mail military@mentalhealthscreening.org or call 781-239-0071.

Health Care [News]  |  Military Pathways   mental health   children   family   suicide