January 15, 2013

How should I respond to a student who seems despondent?

The Suicide Outreach and Support (SOS) program is a suicide prevention program that is based on suicide prevention strategies that are applicable to broad populations and are well-suited for the general campus population.  The SOS program also includes a special emphasis on reaching military-affiliated students (active duty servicepersons, veterans, and military spouses and dependents) and students in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (GLBTQ) community.

The SOS program at UWF includes training sessions for faculty, staff, and students, a Suicide Prevention Coalition, a Student Organization Network, and a Social Marketing Campaign to increase knowledge and awareness of suicide warning signs and risk factors among members of the UWF community, including information about several national suicide hotline resources.

Faculty may be particularly interested in the QPR Gatekeeper Training, which will help faculty develop the ability to recognize warning signs of potential suicidal thoughts and respond effectively to individuals who present these warning signs. 

QPR is easy to learn.  Training sessions require only a one hour commitment.  They are free to students, faculty and staff.   The UWF Counseling Center will offer three training workshops during the spring terms: 

	Monday, January 28, 2013, 2 PM – 4 PM
	Monday, March 11, 2013, 10 AM – 12 noon
	Thursday, May 9, 2013, 3 PM – 5 PM

All workshops will be held in BLDG 960 (Counseling & Wellness) Room 258
 
Use the following link to sign up for one of these QPR workshops:
http://www.uwf.edu/cws/SOS.cfm

Contact April Glenn to schedule additional training (474-2420 or e-mail: aglenn@uwf.edu). 

Faculty can also visit the Counseling Center web site, which includes a resource page on suicide prevention, including the resource, How to Help a Student Who May be Having Thoughts about Suicide.  This document discusses the warning signs of suicidal ideation, specific actions individuals should take if they are concerned about a person, and follow-up actions they should take when responding to student or colleague.

Suicide Outreach & Support resource page: 
http://www.uwf.edu/cws/SOS.cfm

Thanks to April Glenn, Student Counseling Specialist, UWF Counseling Center, for this teaching tip.

 

01/15/13 cdw