Legal & Ethical Issues: Working with Suicidal Students... by Patricia Perez-Abassi https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq "It takes a village to raise a child." --African Proverb en-us 2021-09-26 04:25:23 UTC 2025-12-06 14:17:18 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/535973576/fad7b3345e1361def4192ff77959fbc4/Tiger___Today_is_a_great_day_.png As a future professional school counselor, I plan to address the current problem resulting from the Covid19 pandemic and inform my fellow educators of the importance of working with suicidal students within the high school student population. It is vital for educators to understand the psychosocial effects of the pandemic on the personal, psychosocial and emotional lives of society's youth, especially at the high school level. zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783090745 2021-10-01 02:37:41 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783090745 A Legal Guide is a very useful resource to have as a counselor. Additionally, working with suicidal students is a very challenging commitment that necessitates for counselors to have the most current information, strategies, skills, and legal guidance to make informed decisions in such cases. As a result of the Covid19 pandemic, we are now facing another challenge dealing with the social and emotional development of our youth, especially at the high school level. As professional school counselors, we must pave the way for the Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs to provide guidance and solutions to the problems we are facing. Furthermore, the suicide death rate for adolescents and young adults has increased in the past two decades. Explanations for the increase in suicide may include bullying, social isolation, increase in technology and social media, increase in mental illnesses, and economic recession (SAMHSA, 2020). zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783194135 Reference:
SAMHSA, 2020.   Treatment for Suicidal Ideation, Self-Harm, and Suicide Attempts Among Youths.  Prevalence, p. 5 . Retrieved from https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/SAMHSA_Digital_Download/PEP20-06-01-002.pdf. ]]> 2021-10-01 03:24:48 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783194135 Resource from a Professional Association: zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783196828 This resource was prepared by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  It is an evidence-based resource guide series that offers treatment for suicidal ideation, self-harm, and suicide attempts among youth. ]]> 2021-10-01 03:26:09 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783196828 News Periodical zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783234169 2021-10-01 03:45:13 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783234169 Article & Bulleted Summary zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783256853 *   An abrupt spike in suicide deaths among students in the Clark County School District has officials in the Las Vegas district wondering if pressures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic might have been part of what fueled the increase
*   Within Clark County School District, there were 19 suicides by students since the district shut down.
*   Other places are seeing a rise in 2020 numbers compared with 2019 as well.
*   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between April and October 2020, hospital emergency departments saw a rise in the share of total visits that were from kids for mental health needs.

Reference:
Chatterjee, R. (2021)   NPR, Houston Public Media. Child Psychiatrists Warn That The Pandemic May Be Driving Up Kids' Suicide Risk. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/02/02/962060105/child-psychiatrists-warn-that-the-pandemic-may-be-driving-up-kids-suicide-risk 



]]> 2021-10-01 03:57:24 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783256853 News Periodical zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783266923 2021-10-01 04:02:44 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783266923 Article & Bulleted Summary zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783267642 *  COVID-19 brought a mental health crisis for Texas teens.      *   Billions In Federal Aid Could Help
*  Part of more than $2 billion in federal funding on its way to Texas school districts will go to help address teen mental health.
*  Another $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan will also go towards addressing mental health for the general public through community health clinics.
Reference:
Trovall, E. ( 2021)  NPR.  COVID-19 Brought A Mental Health Crisis For Texas Teens. Billions In Federal Aid Could Help  Retrieved from:  https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/education-news/2021/03/23/394114/texas-teens-face-suicidal-thoughts-as-pandemic-exacerbates-stress-isolation/


]]> 2021-10-01 04:03:13 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783267642 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783308393 *    “Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Act of 2021”
*    In general the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, may carry out a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enhance services for high school students with mental health and behavioral health issues that can lead to school failure, including depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts.
*  A grant awarded under this section may only be used, with respect to high school students served by an eligible entity.

]]> 2021-10-01 04:29:15 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783308393 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783322357 *  The agency, in coordination with the Health and Human Services Commission and regional education service centers, shall provide and annually update a list of recommended best practice-based programs and research-based practices in the areas specified under Subsection (c) for implementation in public elementary, junior high, middle, and high schools within the general education setting.]]> 2021-10-01 04:39:08 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783322357 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783329165 *    Public schools in Texas must have a “district improvement plan” which must include strategies for suicide prevention. Advocates of suicide prevention should work with their school district’s local committees and stakeholders to ensure the district’s plan and training includes methods for addressing suicide prevention. ]]> 2021-10-01 04:43:53 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783329165 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783331753 *    To provide information on public school policy. Public schools in Texas must have a “district improvement plan,” which may include strategies for suicide prevention. Advocates of suicide prevention should work with their school district’s local committees and stakeholders to ensure the district’s plan includes methods for addressing suicide prevention.

]]> 2021-10-01 04:45:48 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783331753 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783333696 *   Mental Health First Aid uses role-playing and simulations to demonstrate how to assess a mental health crisis; select interventions and provide initial help; and connect young people to professional, peer, social, and self-help care. ]]> 2021-10-01 04:47:11 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783333696 Professional Ethical Dilemma-- zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783345169 As counselors, we will be faced with very challenging situations that require tactfulness in dealing with such delicate cases when dealing with suicidal students and their parents. We must exercise extreme caution in relating the news of a possible suicide, suicide ideation, or completed act of suicide by their child. Legal guidance can be reached to assist counselors in a suicide that has taken place at the school campus due to the potential risks of parents misinterpreting or believing that the school would be responsible for their child's suicide on campus. ]]> 2021-10-01 04:55:21 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783345169 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783345922  B.5.b. Responsibility to Parents and Legal Guardians Counselors inform parents and legal guardians about the role of counselors and the confidential nature of the counseling relationship, consistent with current legal and custodial arrangements. Counselors are sensitive to the cultural diversity of families and respect the inherent rights and responsibilities of parents/guardians regarding the welfare of their children/charges according to law. Counselors work to establish, as appropriate, collaborative relationships with parents/guardians to best serve clients. ]]> 2021-10-01 04:55:52 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783345922 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783349386 School counselors work to identify behavioral and social/emotional signs of suicide risk among their students and ensure prevention methods are in place. It is the school counselor’s ethical and moral responsibility to report suspected suicide risk to legal guardians and the appropriate authorities. In acknowledging suspected suicide risk, school counselors exercise reasonable care to protect students from unforeseeable harm (ASCA, 2016).]]> 2021-10-01 04:57:49 UTC https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783349386 zaynab1199 https://padlet.com/zaynab1199/byv3pz9pqqm00urq/wish/1783360294 https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/prevention/index.html

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