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By: Dr. Amy Grosso
In today’s complex educational landscape, schools are not just centers for academic learning; they are also critical spaces for mental health support and awareness. As the second leading cause of death among teens, suicide is a pressing issue that demands attention, understanding, and proactive measures.
In this Q&A, Dr. Amy Grosso shares her journey, her passion, and her expertise, offering schools a roadmap towards a future where suicide prevention is integrated into the very fabric of education. Through her work with Raptor, she is helping to shape a new paradigm for school safety—one that is proactive, compassionate, and deeply informed by the realities of mental health.
How did you get into the work around suicide awareness and prevention?
I often say my mom brought me to the work of suicide prevention, but I stay because it is the second leading cause of death for teens.
My mom died by suicide 25 years ago and it completely changed my life, including my career goals. I switched from wanting to be an accountant to a counselor. In 2015 I was introduced to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by participating in one of their Overnight Walks. I joined thousands of people as we walked 18 miles through the night in Dallas.
Since then, I have been volunteering with the AFSP and continue to walk hundreds of miles to raise awareness and funds for research, education, and advocacy. I now serve on the National Chapter Leadership Council for AFSP.
You recently joined the Raptor Pack—what drew you here?
Previously, I was a director of behavioral health for a large school district and was part of the safety and security team. I assisted with rolling out threat assessment and a comprehensive suicide protocol. I realized how so much of the school safety world is reactionary, especially in the tools being sold to school districts.
When Raptor launched StudentSafe™, I was fortunate to be part of a focus group for the product. The more I learned about it, the more I saw it as the one thing that was truly proactive and focused on prevention. I knew I wanted to be part of the future of school safety, which is prevention and early intervention.
Why is it important to have suicide prevention month?
For too long the topic of suicide was considered taboo and not openly discussed. The topic of suicide can be surrounded by tremendous shame. Having a month devoted to suicide prevention is an opportunity for education, awareness, and open conversation.
It’s important to have those conversations and to openly talk about suicide so any student who is experiencing suicidal thoughts will feel like they can share their struggle, rather than continue to suffer in silence. Without talking about suicide openly, it will continue to be the second leading cause of death for teens.
Let’s talk about myths and misconceptions regarding suicide. What have you come across?
While strides have been made in the way mental health is viewed, unfortunately there is still stigma, especially the way adults might view a student struggling. There continues to be a myth that if a student says they are having suicidal thoughts they are just wanting attention. This is a dangerous myth, and it is important for school staff to take any statements about suicide seriously.
Additional information about myths related to suicide—and research-backed facts better suited to guide suicide prevention practices—can be found here.
Suicide is a difficult topic to talk about—what are the obstacles to having an honest, productive conversation about it, and what are some strategies or perspectives that can help overcome them?
So often a person is afraid to have the conversation because they fear saying the wrong thing. It is important to remember if you go into the conversation with care and compassion for the other person you are doing the right thing. Think of it as opening a door and then leaving space for the other person to walk through the door.
In a school setting, having an open conversation might be a teacher talking with a student because they have noticed the student seems to not be themselves the last few classes. The conversation should not be about academic performance but instead noticing a change in the student. It is up to the student if they want to share, but the door has been opened and the teacher has shown they care.
Tips for school administrators:
- Create space for conversations with students that are not about academics or grades—and encourage your teachers to do so.
- Starting the conversation is an important first step—but the next steps are critical. Have discreet, reliable means to document teachers’ concerns whenever they need to refer a student to the counselor’s office for the higher level of support they might need.
- School leadership can also work with local licensed providers to include regular mental health training for all staff.
Are there phrases that should be used or avoided when talking about suicide? Why does it matter?
Best practice is to move away from saying committed suicide to saying died by suicide, took their life, or killed themselves. In addition, move from saying a failed attempt or a successful attempt to saying attempt or died by suicide. These changes might seem small, but they go a long way in lowering the stigma associated with suicide.
When someone dies by suicide, it is important to take care in how you discuss the death. Details of the method used should not be mentioned. We take this care because we want to lower the risk of contagion as much as we can. Contagion is when someone is exposed to details of suicide, it can increase their risk of suicide or suicide attempts.
AFSP has an After a Suicide Toolkit for Schools that is full of resources and provides information on contagion: After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools | AFSP
What are the early warning signs staff should look out for in students? How can we recognize a student in crisis?
Warning signs for suicide can vary by person, but they fall into three categories: talk, behavior, and mood.
The important thing is to remember, trust your gut and if you notice a change in a friend or loved one, say something. You might be the only one who notices.
What are ways everyone in a school can prevent suicide?
I think we often limit suicide prevention to crisis plans and how to respond when someone is having suicidal ideation. While crisis work is part of suicide prevention, it is not all that can be done.
For example:
- When an employee develops a culture where a student feels safe, that is suicide prevention work.
- When teaching coping strategies is part of the curriculum, that is suicide prevention work.
- Promoting Suicide Prevention Month is suicide prevention work.
- Caring about students holistically and not only focusing on academics is also suicide prevention work.
By cultivating a supportive, empathy-driven culture within our schools, we can help shift some of the work in mental health from a reactionary state to a preventative one.
What role do you see technology playing in suicide prevention?
Too often when technology and suicide are in the same sentence it is only discussed how technology, specifically social media, can impact a student’s overall mental health. Schools have a great opportunity to use technology to assist in the work of suicide prevention.
StudentSafe is the ideal technology system for suicide prevention. Giving staff the ability to report low-level concerns and early warning signs, and a school counselor being able to see what others are seeing in a student, allows for early intervention.
Built into StudentSafe is the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) and SAFE-T for school counselors or other trained school mental health staff to use when a student is showing warning signs of suicidal thoughts. By utilizing tools seen as industry best practice, schools are able to not only assist the student in crisis, but also the family as they get support in their community.
For more resources:
There are many resources available to provide suicide prevention support. Here are seven great options to consider if you or someone you know needs help.
- 988 –The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.
- Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention – The Model School District Policy on Suicide Prevention gives educators and school administrators a comprehensive way to implement suicide prevention policies in their local community. It was developed by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American School Counselor Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and The Trevor Project, the program is research-based and easily adaptable for middle and high schools.
- After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools – In collaboration with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, AFSP offers After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools to help schools respond in the aftermath of a suicide death.
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – AFSP offers a variety of programming on suicide prevention for staff, students, and families.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness – NAMI offers a wide variety of programming for students and families on a variety of mental health topics.
- The Jason Foundation – The Jason Foundation focuses on youth suicide and offers training for students, parents, educators, coaches, and youth workers.
- The Jed Foundation – The Jed Foundation is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults, giving them the skills and support they need to thrive today… and tomorrow. The website has a resource center.
Raptor can help
Learn more about the strategies and best practices in supporting student wellbeing in Raptor’s free guide.
Dr. Amy Grosso
After completing her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Amy Grosso began her career as a mental health counselor at Wake Forest Baptist Health. After accepting her position as the Director of Behavioral Health at Round Rock ISD, Dr. Amy’s accomplishments include:
- Creating the Behavioral Health Services Department, including the hiring and oversight of a team of social workers—and the first-ever social worker dedicated to supporting staff.
- Assisting the establishment of the Round Rock ISD Police Department and specifically designing how social workers work in conjunction with police officers.
- Overseeing the implementation of threat assessment and comprehensive suicide protocols.
Dr. Amy serves on the National Chapter Leadership Council of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She co-authored the book Schoolwide Collaboration for Transformative Social Emotional Learning, August 2021.
Related Resources
Guide to K-12 Student Wellbeing
Strategies to Recognize, Document, and Support Students in Distress
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