“Thanks to your training I was able to ask a student about suicide today. While I was nervous, it felt strangely empowering!”
—University Faculty Member, Suicide Prevention Training Attendee
From one hour to a half day, virtual or in person, Emotionally Naked LLC has courses for K-12 and university educators and government agencies on suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. Based on the book, Emotionally Naked, A Teacher’s Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk, these suicide prevention training for teachers as professional development courses empower educators with the confidence to reduce this threat to life.
These courses do not “teach” teachers to be therapists but rather present ways to identify students who are struggling, how to have the conversation, what to do, and finally how to leverage their relationships to reduce this threat to life. All courses can include a parent education night or a student presentation and can be taught in person or virtually.
Prevent students from getting to suicide crisis
In-person or online suicide prevention training for teachers and educators emphasizes small shifts in the pedagogy and school culture that prevent students from getting to crisis. This is an upstream strategy and includes examples and case studies of how other educators have accomplished this and gotten results.
The small systemic culture shifts taught, are not difficult to implement, do not require a formal program, and not only create a foundation for suicide prevention but lead to fewer disciplinary problems, less self-harm, and substance misuse. Crisis response always uses up more resources and time, and any effort to avoid that is a plus for any school staff.
We also know that emotionally healthy kids perform better which improves your overall school report card. Note that the strategies discussed also include teachers who may be at risk.
On this page, you’ll find:
- Overview of Educator Training/Speaker Topics PDF Overview
- One-Hour Suicide Prevention Primer for Teachers and Educators
- Professional Development Suicide Prevention Training for Teachers
- Half-Day Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention for Educators
- Testimonials for half-day suicide prevention training for educators
Overview of Educator Training and Speaker Topics (including mental health keynote speaker topics)
One-Hour Suicide Prevention Primer for Teachers and Educators
Program Title: The Emotionally Naked Truth About Suicide
Time: 1 hour (can be 1.5 hours)
Virtual or In-Person Professional Development Topic for: Educators including teachers, school counselors, school nurses, principals, coaches, etc.
Topic Title: The Emotionally Naked Truth About Suicide
Description: TEDx and emotionally naked storyteller, Anne Moss Rogers, has built a following suicide, and the mental illness and addiction that often trigger it. After trying to find help for her once joyful son and rap artist, including wilderness therapy and therapeutic boarding school, Charles met heroin, a love/hate affair that ended with his suicide on June 5, 2015. This presentation touches on Anne Moss’s powerful story and dispels common myths about suicide and substance misuse while empowering regular humans with the skills to prevent this threat to life.
Learning outcomes:
- Cryptic and real-life signs of suicide in youth and what to say/do
- Examples of how other teachers have seamlessly built connection, mindfulness, and coping skills into their classroom culture
- Lesser-known transitions when students are more at risk
- Creating a suicide-safe environment (aka. means safety)
Professional Development or short program suicide prevention training for teacher and educators
Time: 2 hours. An introductory call is free.
Virtual or In-Person Professional Development Topic for: Educators including teachers, school counselors, school nurses, principals, coaches, etc.
For: Elementary schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, Colleges
Contact Anne Moss Rogers
PD Program title: The Emotionally Naked Truth About Student Suicide: Prevention and Intervention with Anne Moss Rogers
It was a teacher who first told Anne Moss Rogers that her son, Charles, might be suffering from depression. And it was a teacher who wrote the most heartfelt note after her son died by suicide. Schools have something few other environments have and that’s an opportunity for genuine human connection. This is the most valuable currency in the education system. How can we leverage those opportunities to bolster a culture of student wellness? Based on the book, Emotionally Naked: A Teacher’s Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk, this presentation will empower educators and youth leaders with the skills to leverage their relationships with students to reduce this threat to life.
Learning outcomes:
- The cryptic and often veiled ways students and teachers cry for help (real-life examples)
- How to respond, and what to say/do (includes actual scripts based on student age)
- Case studies of how educators have seamlessly built connection, coping skills, and embed SEL competencies into their classroom culture
- Lesser-known triggers that put students at greater risk of suicide and what to do
- Creating a suicide-safe environment
- If relevant, how to spot & respond to elementary-age children at risk of suicide who don’t have a mature concept of death or know the word “suicide”
Themes include hope, resilience, diversity and inclusion, connection, mental health, coping strategies, SEL, and self-care.
Half-day Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention for Educators
Time: 3.5-4 hours (half day) Training, Professional Development, or Preconference Workshop
Topic title: Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention for Educators
Description: Participants will have the opportunity to learn through scenarios and discussions and strengthen their ability to gain insight, tools, and resources to work through one of the most difficult topics those working with students face–suicide. This training includes scripts and role play, videos from educators and experts, real case studies, simple strategies, and time for Q&A throughout and will focus on three parts:
Part I – Prevention
- Signs to look for in young people ages 6-25. What to look for in artwork, on social media sites, and in papers kids write.
- A review of case studies of how teachers have integrated coping and critical thinking into their curriculum and how that helps kids build resilience and coping skills.
- Creating a suicide-safe environment
Part II – Intervention
- What to say, what to do, scripts, and role play on how to respond. (virtual presentation will have talk bubbles)
- Examples of protocols in school settings.
- Scripts for effectively and supportively addressing conversations and situations with students in an age-appropriate and sensitive way. Examples of scripts include:
- One for LGBTQ child
- One for a 6-year-old. How do we figure out their level of understanding of death, how do you ask a child who doesn’t know the word “suicide?”
- What to say to parents, laying the groundwork to normalize these conversations, and actual scripted responses to difficult questions.
Part III- Postvention
- The top errors most administrators make after a school suicide can put other vulnerable students at risk.
- How to support staff and students in their grief after the suicide of a teacher or student.
- What to do and say to the parent of a deceased child and a protocol to follow.
- What educators can say to students who accuse teachers of holding back or lying when the parent has asked that the cause of death not be disclosed?
- How to prevent contagion and cohort suicide.
- Memorial guidelines and creating a commemoration policy.
Testimonials from half-day suicide prevention training for educators
More testimonials for mental health speaker Anne Moss Rogers here
Feedback from Educators at a Pre-Conference Mental health workshop, Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention for Educators:
- “Heartfelt presentation – it will help me to empathize more with troubled kids in schools.”
- “She speaks from personal experience from the heart. I liked the script practice and scenarios especially. Really good advice for figuring out what to say and how to say it. And also understanding the importance of listening!!!”
- “When a presenter has the personal experience, as this presenter, it adds an element of authenticity and compassion to what they are conveying.”
- “The session is a must in today’s young adult and teens involvement.”
- “Your attention and compassion on this subject was captivating, thank you!”
- “An excellent dive into this uncomfortable topic”
- “Excellent training; I learned additional information; the training reinforced my skill sets; and provided me with much more detailed information on how to handle these types of incidents.”
- “I’ve often worried about the most effective verbiage for children in families in this raw situation. The examples on to say and how to bridge that gap of understanding between me and families to the student was invaluable.”