Newswise — As students across the country arrive on college campuses for the first time this week, many mental health professionals are focused on helping them deal with the increased stress of the transition. With suicide as the second leading cause of death on campuses in America—the rate is highest among first-year students—some professionals are training gatekeepers, like resident assistants and academic advisers, how to identify the signs that a student may be depressed or suicidal in an attempt to prevent potential suicides from occurring. Gatekeepers are trained to watch for students who seem depressed, withdrawn or socially isolated. They’re also taught to listen for verbal indicators, such as a stated intent to commit suicide, or expressing a viewpoint that life isn’t worth living.
“Since so many first-year students live in residence halls, it’s a big part of our strategy to reach out to the university’s 300 RAs,” says Heather Servaty-Seib, PhD, an assistant professor of counseling and development at Purdue University. “Our focus has been on training campus gatekeepers to be better equipped to identify and refer at-risk students.”
The Association for Death Education and Counseling, The Thanatology Association®, provides educational resources and support for those who study traumatic death and counsel suicide survivors, as well as anyone whose work involves a variety of other grief-related topics. Thanatology is defined as the study of death and dying.
Dr. Servaty-Seib, a past president of ADEC, believes that her work on Purdue’s campus is informed by ADEC’s mission. She adds, “Much of the focus in suicide prevention is on how individuals who contemplate suicide are feeling isolated and disconnected. Any issue related to death and dying in US culture is taboo—and arguably suicide more than others. It is critical for people to ask questions about suicide when people are in crisis, to take the step to cross the cultural taboo.”
Anyone wanting to find a practiced counselor or social worker who specializes in death, dying and bereavement can take advantage of ADEC’s “Find a Thanatologist” directory, a free resource that puts the public in contact with experienced thanatologists.
ADEC, founded in 1976, is a professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence and recognizing diversity in death education, care of the dying, grief counseling and research in thanatology. Based on quality research and theory, the association provides information, support and resources to its international, multicultural, multidisciplinary membership and through it, to the public. Membership information is available on the ADEC Web site.
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