Suicide support in schools

UNE expertise in suicide postvention and education is being employed to support high school communities struggling with loss and grief throughout Australia.

Over the next three years, Professor Myfanwy Maple and Associate Professor Sarah Wayland will evaluate a new initiative being rolled out in schools by the MacKillop Seasons team, funded by the National Suicide Prevention and Leadership Support Program. Seasons for Life aims to reduce the impact of exposure to suicide and improve what is known as ‘grief literacy’ – the ability to understand and discuss loss, and thereby increase resilience and coping strategies.

“More than 3,000 people die by suicide each year in Australia and the impact of these deaths ripples across families and communities at some point in a young person’s school journey,” Assoc. Prof. Wayland said. “Suicide is the biggest risk factor for people aged 35 and under, and our work has shown that many who are at increased risk of suicide are those previously exposed to suicide.”

Seasons for Life builds on the highly successful, evidence-based Seasons for Growth program and will engage students, parents, staff and community members in small-group sessions in 500 public, independent and Catholic schools nationally. Companions will be trained to facilitate the small groups, focused on change, loss, and grief, in a way that strengthens participants’ networks and emotional wellbeing.

Being embedded in the initiative from its outset, the UNE pair are able to use emerging evidence to inform and guide its implementation in real-time.

“Evaluations are usually retrospective, but this approach allows us to immerse ourselves in the program’s development, introduction and delivery as members of the advisory committee,” Prof. Maple said. “In addition, we will be assessing how the program works and who it works best for, incorporating reflections as we go. This will avoid any time lag and offer evaluation outcomes that have been identified from robust, pragmatic research methods.”

Importantly, Prof. Maple and Assoc. Prof. Wayland will conduct “deep dives” into the experiences of up to 10 communities, meeting students, parents and trainers to gauge the program’s impact.

“Holding space for people to talk about death by suicide and its impact is very important,” Assoc. Prof. Wayland said. “Often young people are silenced in their grief and either left out of difficult conversations or given a sanitised version of events. Suicide can create a very different kind of grief. The Seasons for Life program helps participants to name and own their reactions, to manage the trauma, loss, suddenness and ‘what if’s’.”

MacKillop Seasons General Manager Fiona McCallum said Seasons for Life is supporting high school communities across Australia with evidence-based loss and grief education following a suicide or other loss event.

“Anecdotes and stories shared in previous evaluations from young people, parents and teachers tell us how the well-established Seasons for Growth program provides valuable support to young people dealing with the magnitude of their feelings around grief and loss,” she said.

“But to have this evaluation by the UNE team running alongside delivery of the new, wraparound Seasons for Life initiative in real-time will provide unparalleled feedback. It will enable us to tailor sessions and continue refining implementation to better respond to the individual needs of the young people and communities we are working to support.”

The partnership draws on Prof. Maple and Assoc. Prof Wayland’s extensive research knowledge and networks.

“Many of those opting to become Seasons for Growth Companions are Student Support Officers and we see lots of potential cross-pollination with UNE’s Social Workers in Schools program,” said Assoc. Prof Wayland, who is the Discipline Lead of Social Work at UNE. “There are lots of connections with how UNE Social Work graduates are working to meet needs in schools and our involvement also speaks to the innovative research Myf and I are doing within Manna Institute to address regional mental health workforce needs.”

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