Colorado is one of the states with the highest percentage of suicides. School officials try to find a way to prevent the tragedy.
A Psychological Survey Tackles Serious Mental Health Challenges
A group of psychologists, therapists and counselors gathered in a conference room at a Canyon City high school on a Monday morning in April. They were eager to find out the results of a survey conducted among students the same morning.
This online survey that tackled sensitive mental health issues provided immediate insight into the mental health of teenage students. The team of experts paid special attention to the answers given to question number 24.
The experts wanted to know how often students thought about hurting themselves in a previous week. When all the results came in, the team members took all the students that answered “often” or “very often” out of classrooms for a one-to-one talk.
As the district psychologist stated, the main point of this whole carefully coordinated action was to convey an important message to Colorado teenagers. It is O.K. not to be O.K.
Many school districts in Colorado state have reinforced mental health support recently. However, these comprehensive psychological surveys — like the one conducted at Canyon City— are still scarce.
Numerous district officials are reluctant to conduct surveys on these delicate issues because they are not sure they can find effective ways to help troubled youth.
There is also a lingering feeling of guilt that sets in when the tragedy hits and you know you couldn’t prevent it.
