Suicide Intervention
Intervention refers to BSD’s responsibility to respond immediately to concerns about suicide thought or behavior with an evidence based practice to reduce suicide behavior; this is suicide first aid. The suicide first aid intervention model BSD uses is Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training or ASIST. ASIST is one of the Oregon Health Authority’s “Big River” suicide intervention trainings as are QPR and Counseling on Access to Lethal Means, CALM. Those trained in ASIST every four years will also receive CALM every three years.
Immediate Response and Supervision: The risk of suicide is raised when any peer, teacher, or other school employee identifies someone as potentially suicidal because they have directly or indirectly expressed suicidal thoughts (ideation) or demonstrated other warning signs or suicide behavior. It is critical that any school employee who has knowledge of a suicide threat reports this information immediately and directly to an administrator, school counselor, school social worker, school psychologist or youth services officer so that the student of concern receives appropriate attention. These roles are trained in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and can apply suicide first aid. We have one staff person who is certified as an ASIST trainer and are working to have another trainer trained this school year from a community partner agency, Beaverton Police Department. Then we will strive to offer 1-3 trainings for BSD and BPD staff each year.
Every effort should be made to intervene with the student the same day that concerns are reported. A staff person must stay with the identified student in a quiet, private setting to provide supervision and appropriate support until first aid can be conducted. If possible, this should be the person who first identified the concern about suicide.
In the ASIST model of suicide first aid, a plan to “keep safe for now” is developed in the assisting phase of the model after the person with thoughts of suicide has confirmed they are having thoughts of suicide (the connecting phase) and made a choice to keep their “life side” safe from suicide behavior (the understanding choices phase). If someone with thoughts of suicide is unwilling or unable to agree to make a plan to keep themselves safe from suicide for now then they need to go immediately for a suicide assessment in the community.
The staff person providing suicide first aid will need to fill out the form associated with the first aid. This form can be found at the end of this plan. This can be after the bulk of the intervention is complete when they are in the assisting phase of the first aid. This form is used by ASIST trained staff to document the first aid provided and to ensure that the Beaverton School District Suicide Intervention Protocol is followed.
If the student is willing and able to make a plan to keep themselves safe for now then the staff person’s role is to help the student develop a support plan. It is best if the student has as much say as possible in creating this plan as then they are much more likely to follow through on the plan. Parents/guardians are also important resources when developing a support plan.
When a student is unwilling or unable to participate in creating a support plan and they instead receive a suicide assessment in the community, upon return to school the parent/guardian and student need to have a re-entry meeting with an administrator, school counselor, school social worker or school psychologist to create a support plan for school to support the student in keeping safe from suicide.
A return to school meeting and creation of a support plan is also recommended if the student returns from a hospitalization, in-patient treatment, intensive out-patient or other suicide behavior and treatment that the school was previously not aware of.
Consultation: Sharing decision-making with another ASIST trained staff either on-site or via a crisis line is best practice. Upon completion and/or at any point during the suicide first aid intervention, consultation can be sought. In particular, the decision to proceed with support planning or send the student for a suicide assessment in the community should be made in consultation.
Threats to Others: If the student discloses any threats of harm or there is reason to believe there is a possibility of harm to others through targeted violence then the staff person will complete suicide first aid and then refer the threat concern to their administrator for a possible Student Threat Assessment Team process.