Schools are uniquely positioned to support youth mental health
Suicide is the #1 cause of death among Colorado youth ages 10-14 & #2 cause of death for ages 15-19.
1 in 3 high school students report feeling sad or hopeless.
For LGBTQ+ students, this rate doubles.
Safe school environments and strong student-adult relationships can reduce suicide risk, but many schools are challenged by limited resources and confidence to provide appropriate support.
Trainings and Workshops Offered by PCMH
We’re committed to helping Colorado schools and staff meet the mental health needs of students by offering trainings, workshops, and opportunities to engage.
School Communities of Practice
A Community of Practice (CoP) provides space to brainstorm and exchange ideas. PCMH is hosting a monthly School Readiness and Resiliency CoP for school staff looking to connect with other professionals to improve suicide prevention efforts in schools. Topics include improving suicide assessments, providing self-care for staff, and engaging youth and families in safety planning. This CoP began in fall 2020, but school staff are invited to register at any point throughout 2021.
Suicide Intervention & Postvention Workshops
PCMH offers workshops for schools on developing suicide intervention and postvention policies and procedures. Suicide intervention workshops review best practice guidelines to intervene with students experiencing thoughts of suicide. Suicide postvention workshops go over ways to respond after a suicide loss. Participants will also be given the opportunity for discussion, dialogue, and idea sharing with other school professionals.
Mental Health Trainings for School Staff
PCMH offers a variety of opportunities for live online and on-demand trainings for school professionals.
DBT ON-DEMAND
This course is a self-paced introductory overview of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), a therapeutic approach focused on building skills around mindfulness, stress management, and healthy relationships. In this course, particular recommendations are offered for facilitating learning in individual/group environments and within remote learning environments.
LIVE 5-PART DBT SERIES
This training occurs over five consecutive weeks to facilitate learning, dialogue, and implementation of DBT skills. Each week, participants review one module and learn a skill to use in their personal and professional lives. Modules includes mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and finding the middle path. Want to arrange this series? Complete our training request form!
CUSTOMIZED TRAININGS
We can provide customized trainings to meet the needs of school communities. For example, we offer families support and coaching on suicide prevention practices within the home. We also support training for educators looking to improve their ability to manage feelings of stress and burnout. If you want to arrange specific opportunities for your school or staff, please fill in our training request form.
Mental Health Gatekeeper Trainings
PCMH offers a variety of gatekeeper trainings that aim to develop participant knowledge and capacity to identify youth at risk of mental health crises, including suicide, and take effective action.
QUESTION, PERSUADE, REFER
(QPR)
QPR is a 1.5 hour training for anyone 18+ who wants to learn more about youth suicide risk and warning signs, prevention strategies, and how to support a youth having thoughts of suicide. These trainings are free and offered on a monthly basis. While this PCMH-led course is specifically focused on youth in Colorado, the skills of QPR transfer to other ages and states.
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop. In this evidence-based training, participants learn how to recognize when a youth may have thoughts of suicide and create a plan to support their immediate safety. Participants will also learn to use a suicide intervention model. If you are interested in scheduling ASIST for your group, please contact info@pcmh.org.
School Mental Health Resources
Teens need support from school staff more than ever before. PCMH partnered with the Mental Health Youth Action Board to develop a video that would drive home that message in a powerful, memorable, and authentic way. After you’ve watched the video, please help us share it! Show it at your next staff meeting, post it to social media, include it in an upcoming newsletter. Make sure the school professionals you know see this important message. We also created a discussion guide to help school administrators and leaders discuss the video with staff after sharing it.
Download guide
Want More? Connect With Us!
We’re committed to meeting the needs of schools across Colorado. In addition to the offerings above, PCMH can provide a more comprehensive, tailored package to equip schools and staff to meet the mental health needs of students. This includes ongoing technical assistance, coaching and consulting. Please send us an email to learn more.
Get in touch