I use the Red Flags Depression Awareness Program to educate our 8th grade students about Adolescent Depression and Suicide. The following summary of the program was taken from a report "Red Flags Depression Awareness Program. The report studied the effectiveness of implementing the Red Flags program in the Cleveland Municipal School District.
"Red Flags is an educational program designed to help middle school students, teachers, and school staff recognize signs of depression (and other mental health issues), symptoms related to suicide, and resources that can help children in Grades 6 through 8 seek assistance for themselves, peers, or siblings who may be suffering from and/or exhibiting signs of depression.
Red Flags, developed by the Mental Health Association of Summit County (MHASC) Ohio, was created in response to the wave of school violence and shootings that had taken place across the country. The Ohio Department of Mental Health asked that a program be developed that focused on adolescent depression, an often unrecognized crisis facing many young people. Suicide, resulting from untreated depression, is the leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24. An education subcommittee of the Mental Health Association of Summit County went to work to develop a school-based program to address this critical issue.
A central component of the Red Flags program is the video called “Claire’s Story.” In an attempt to help her adolescent daughter tell the story of her struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide, Claire’s mother, Penny Frese, co-wrote with Claire, and produced the video to educate others about this mental health threat. That video, along with other program materials for students, teachers and parents, was developed to provide Red Flags participants with an understanding of the symptoms, the illness, and the available resources for recognizing and treating depression in adolescents.
To help combat depression and reduce the risk of suicide among middle To help combat depression and reduce the risk of suicide among middle school students, the MHASC in conjunction with Ohio Department of Mental Health distributes the Red Flags program material, free of charge, to middle schools across the state that are looking for a prevention program to educate their school community. To date, over 300,000 students in the State of Ohio have participated in Red Flags training. The program has also been used in a number of other states and it is being piloted in others."
As a school counselor, I am constantly measuring my programming/curriculum to the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommendations. ASCA is a national organization that "supports school counselors' efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social and career development so they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society."There are three domains that school counselors programming focuses on-career (college and career readiness), academic and social and emotional. As I was reflecting on my time in the classroom presenting the Red Flags programming would fit into the personal/social domains but I think it would also fit into career and academic domains.
What are you doing to address depression and suicide in your school?
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