Suicide prevention in the educational context
Suicidal behavior must be addressed through prevention, which should include the educational context . Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people aged 15 to 29 (INE 2020), and more suicide attempts occur during adolescence than at any other developmental stage. The school environment can be a space that empowers students to manage their distress in a healthy way and can address and detect the first signs of suicidal behavior . It should also be noted that some self-harming behaviors in young people, most of them not suicidal, can appear as early as primary school.
The school is a space for encounter and support, not only for students but for the entire school community, including families and all staff members. From this systemic perspective, we can address many of the needs that arise among these stakeholders and adapt to different contexts. In secondary schools, there has been a clear increase in suicide attempts and self-harm , with or without suicidal ideation, over the last two school years. In response, many education professionals have requested more guidance and training to acquire the tools necessary to implement targeted prevention programs in schools and to provide appropriate support and referrals in at-risk situations.
Many teachers have demanded more guidance and training to have the tools to implement suicide prevention projects in schools.
What was, until recently, a taboo subject in society has ceased to be so in schools, which have experienced firsthand the complexity of these behaviors. From the healthcare sector, many professionals have collaborated with schools. Among them, the work of Francisco Villar and his book , *Dying Before Suicide: Prevention in Adolescence* (Herder Publishing, 2022), stands out, highlighting this setting as a key context for preventing youth suicide.
Dr. Francisco Villar Cabeza
An example of a suicide prevention project in school
During the 2021-2022 school year, a project from this community perspective was carried out in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona), promoted by the city council and coordinated by Miriam Paz Salgado, an education specialist. The project included the following actions:
- Workshop "And now , what do I do?" This workshop is aimed at sixth-grade students and its main objective is to explore the healthy management of intense emotions. Many cases of self-harm seen in sixth-grade and first-year secondary school students are a way of channeling emotions such as anger, sadness, or guilt through the body. Another key concept of the workshop is working on communication, so that students can recognize their adult role models and understand that, when faced with these types of actions, whether their own or others', they should communicate these behaviors to their loved ones.
- The workshop "Light and Darkness ," aimed at fourth-year secondary school students, focuses on understanding the concept of hopelessness, a major risk factor for suicide . While suicidal behavior is always multifactorial, hopelessness is present in most cases. Individuals perceive their distress as never-ending, and this thought can lead to suicidal ideation, gestures, or the act itself. Using the photographic technique of light painting , the workshop explores this concept, avoiding its trivialization, and also explores available support resources. In this way, students become aware of the protective factors at their disposal.
- Teacher training. Training sessions have been organized with some of the teachers from the schools that conducted the workshops to share information, address myths, discuss risk and protective factors, identify warning signs, and outline intervention protocols . It is crucial that educational teams recognize the importance of integrating suicide prevention into their projects in a cross-curricular manner. The Department of Education of the Government of Catalonia and its Inclusive Education division have produced a training video to highlight the most relevant aspects of suicidal behavior.
- Training for non-formal education professionals. These spaces are ideal meeting points for some children and young people to find adult role models with whom they can establish close communication bonds, beyond their family or school. This reference point is what was taken into account when developing the guide "Addressing Youth Suicide: Guidelines and Tools for Youth Organizations ," published by the CNJC (National Youth Council of Catalonia) and the APSAS association.
- Meetings with families . These meetings address a broader reality, the reality of loss , and dedicate time to understanding the complexities of grief following suicide. Family meetings are key to providing psychoeducation, sharing concerns, and offering supportive and assertive support.
All these actions began with the introduction of the APSAS association through an online inaugural course conference, organized by the City Council and aimed at all teachers in Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Since the audience ranged from early childhood educators to vocational training instructors, the talk offered an approach to the taboo surrounding death and the pedagogy of mortality. If, from the earliest years of life, we can foster educational spaces for discussing change, loss, life, and death, we will be able to strengthen one of the most fundamental protective factors: resilience.
Glòria Iniesta Guirao
Joan Roa Natividad
These types of projects allow us to approach suicidal behavior by raising awareness of the importance of caring for our physical, mental, and social well-being . Likewise, these spaces allow us to discuss many of the myths associated with suicide, primarily the one that links talking about suicide to the so-called Werther effect (contagion effect).
If from the earliest years of life we are able to create educational spaces to talk about change, loss, life and death, we will be able to strengthen one of the basic protective factors: resilience.
Being able to find spaces to include prevention also allows us to dissociate suicidal behavior from mental disorder , an association that, while highly prevalent in adults (especially in affective disorders like depression), is not always related to a pathology in adolescence when the first instances of self-harm appear. It is true, as Isabel de Paula points out in her book *Self-Harm in Autism* ( Alianza Editorial, 2018) , that certain disorders have a higher predisposition to develop these behaviors as a means of regulation. But it is also true that teachers who work daily in the classroom can observe many behaviors associated with other risk factors. Among these, the influence of social media as a catalyst for self-harm stands out, through hashtags that incite cutting or through pro-suicide forums. Likewise, the world of " happycracy " acts as a catalyst for frustration, given that adolescents feel constant pressure regarding their lifestyles, their relationships, and their bodies. Therefore, addressing suicide prevention in adolescence is addressing self-healing in the truest sense.
We do not have an easy challenge ahead of us, but reality forces us to transform ourselves to continue growing professionally, and thus be able to better serve students and families who need it.
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