Dear Great River School 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grade families,
Adolescence can be marked by a roller-coaster ride of emotions: challenging for teens, their families, and educators. As we work back to life after a global pandemic, it can be easy to misread depression as normal adolescent turmoil; however, depression appears to be occurring at a higher rate post pandemic, and the past decade has seen teen suicide rates double.
To address this issue proactively, Great River School will offer a depression screening and suicide prevention training as part of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention Program. Our goals in participating in this program are straightforward:
To help our students understand depression is a treatable illness and to help them assess whether they may have symptoms consistent with depression;
To explain suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs because of untreated depression;
To provide students training in how to identify serious depression and potential suicidality in a friend;
To impress upon teens that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns.
All Great River School 7th and 8th graders will participate in the SOS Suicide Prevention Program on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023. 9th and 10th graders will participate in the SOS program on Wednesday, April 19th.
Seth Tupper, Megan Miliaresis, Adolescent School Social Workers, as well as Michelle Flannery, School Psychologist, and Saleha Erdmann, Social Emotional and Wellness Coordinator will be facilitating a 30 minute-long lesson for 7th and 8th grade students during the beginning of the day on April 12th (same for 9/10th grade on 4/19). Students will watch a short video that presents the signs and symptoms of depression and suicide, and educates teens about how to respond if a friend is at risk by telling a responsible adult about their concerns.
Following the video and class discussion, each student will be asked to complete a short questionnaire designed as a screening tool for adolescent depression. Students who are at serious risk for depression or suicide will be contacted on the day of their screening by our mental health team, along with their parents/guardians, and offered help and referral information.
The depression screening tool that we are using concerns thoughts and feelings parents may be unaware their child is having. This tool cannot provide a diagnosis of depression, but does give an indication of whether a young person should be referred for evaluation by a mental health professional.
If you do NOT wish your child to take a written screening test for depression and participate in the SOS program, please let the team know by Tuesday April 11th by emailing stupper@greatriverschool.org . If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate.
NOTE: If your child opts out of the screening, they will still view the education portion of the program, but they will NOT take the survey.
Attached is an information sheet for families to review and better understand the core concepts and resources offered by SOS.
If you have any questions or concerns about this program or the enclosed screening form, please do not hesitate to contact the mental health department at mentalhealth@greatriverschool.org.
If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, contact the national mentual health crisis line at 988 or visit your nearest emergency department immediately..
Sincerely,
Adolescent Great River School Mental Health Team
Saleha Erdmann, MSW, LICSW
Michelle Flannery, EdS, NCSP
Seth Tupper, MSW, LICSW
Megan Miliaresis, MSW LGSW