NASW Sponsors the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program

WASHINGTON —The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is proud to sponsor and support the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program , a program created and managed by Screening for Mental Health, Inc.

The SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program has demonstrated a dramatic increase in help-seeking by depressed students, and reduced suicide attempts by 40 percent in high school students exposed to the program. This program is the only school-based suicide prevention program selected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, as a “promising program” for the National Registry of Effective Programs (NREP).

The program is designed to be easily replicable in a variety of school settings, using existing school personnel and implemented during one or two classroom periods. The basic message of the SOS Program is to teach high school students to respond to the signs of suicide as a mental health emergency, much as one would react to a heart attack. It focuses on teaching youths to recognize the signs of suicide and depression in themselves and others, as well as the specific action steps needed to respond to those signs.

Since 2000 the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program has been implemented in more than 1,300 schools across the country. The cost for the program is $200.00. Registration information and downloadable forms are available Online at http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/sos_highschool/index.htm or call (781) 239-0071.

NASW encourages social workers employed in school settings to consider making this a part of ongoing mental health prevention services.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), in Washington , DC , is the largest membership organization of professional social workers with 150,000 members. It promotes, develops, and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well being of individuals, families and communities through its advocacy.