Suicide Prevention Takes a Village at Universities: Eight Key Strategies

Engaging in suicide prevention on university campuses requires a comprehensive approach that involves a variety of strategies and invested partners. Universities have the unique opportunity to cultivate a supportive environment that promotes mental health and provides effective interventions for those in crisis. This article discusses how universities can implement a multifaceted approach to suicide prevention using 8 key strategies.

1. Support Access to Quality, Affordable Care at University Counseling Centers

University counseling centers are pivotal in providing mental health support to students, including those at risk of suicide. It is essential for university counseling centers to have the capacity to provide treatment and access to students, as well as the expertise to treat suicidal clients effectively. This involves having trained mental health professionals who can conduct thorough assessments, create individualized treatment plans, and offer immediate and long-term support. Counseling centers should also have protocols in place for crisis situations, including emergency interventions and referrals to external resources as needed. Use of university counseling centers has proven to reduce suicidal ideation for students regardless of initial risk or distress (Rallis et al., 2023). By ensuring that counseling centers are equipped to handle suicidal clients, universities can provide critical support during moments of crisis and work towards preventing suicide.

2. Create University Clinical Training Pipelines

University counseling centers play a crucial role in providing mental health services to students. Establishing a training pipeline can enhance the capacity of the university counseling center, ultimately enabling a greater number of students to be served. By establishing training pipelines within the counseling centers, universities can guarantee their staff are prepared to handle a wide range of mental health concerns, including suicide risk. Training pipelines involve continuous education and skill development for clinical professionals, including up-to-date practices, exploring emerging research, and gaining clinically-based skills for managing crisis situations. Having counseling centers function as training pipelines ensures that when positions become available, they can be filled by professionals who are knowledgeable in prevention and treatment. These individuals will then continue to play a vital role in training the next generation of providers. This ongoing training ensures that clinic staff can deliver a standard of high-quality care by staying informed about best practices in suicide prevention and treatment.

3. Develop Campus Wide Initiatives

Creating an environment of support for suicide prevention can be accomplished via campus wide initiatives. Building an initiative through the lens of a public health approach should encompass the campus at large by engaging support from the student body, faculty and staff, student organizations, residential life, academic advisors, various departments, student affairs, and the surrounding community (Harris et al., 2022). For example, with initial funding from a SAMHSA GLS Campus Suicide Prevention grant, Wichita State University created the Suspenders4Hope mental wellness and prevention program—an evidence-based, four-part initiative that promotes a supportive campus environment through a stigma-reducing campaign. The initiative includes having students, faculty, and staff complete a 2-hour suicide prevention training, incorporate wellness activities in the classroom, and serve as mental health advocates. In the training, participants learn about various tools that can be utilized to navigate complex and sensitive situations to ensure that students receive appropriate care and intervention on campus. Those who complete the training receive a suspenders shirt to wear as a symbol of their commitment to mental health and their readiness to support those in need. Other examples of identify and refer trainings include Mental Health First Aid, Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR), and the Green Bandana Project. The goal of the initiative should be to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention by engaging the university community in visible, supportive actions. The suspenders serve as a conversation starter, reducing stigma and encouraging open dialogue about mental health issues. By visibly fostering a culture of support, the campus wide initiative helps to normalize conversations about mental health and encourage individuals to seek help.

4. Introduce Mental Health Programs at New Student Orientation

New student orientation is a critical time for introducing incoming students to a university’s mental health resources and support systems. Students indicate having a lack of knowledge about mental health services on university campuses (Hyseni Duraku et al., 2023), highlighting the need for a greater awareness of available resources. Some students noted their peers being unaware of the counseling center’s physical location as another barrier to receiving supportive services (Cohen et al., 2022). Therefore, integrating mental health programs into new student orientation helps students become aware of available resources, learn about mental health and wellness, and know how to seek help if needed. Orientation programs can include workshops, presentations, and/or informational materials about mental health services, stress management, and recognizing signs of distress. By addressing mental health early in a student’s university experience, these programs can help establish a foundation of support and awareness.

5. Give Tangible Support to Help in Crisis

Tangible support can function as a proactive tool used by universities to support students in mental health crises. Tangible support can be offering a Hope Kit, which can include materials designed to provide distress tolerance and emotion regulation resources, such as self-care items that provide health distraction and are self-soothing, inspirational messages, and information on accessing mental health resources. The purpose is to offer tangible support and encouragement to students who might be struggling, serving as a reminder that help is available and that they are not alone. Hope Kit items can also help students effectively manage in a time of crisis. Distributing tangible support, like the Hope Kits, can create a physical expression of support and provide students with tools to manage their mental health when alone.

6. Use National Evidence-Based Interventions 

Having clinical staff in counseling centers trained in specific suicide treatment interventions is equally as essential as having prevention trainings accessible to students, faculty, and staff when establishing a supportive and proactive campus environment. These programs should emphasize universal screening and a collaborative approach to treating clients who screen positive for risk, work from an evidence-based foundation, and focus on understanding client needs, all while working together to establish safety plans and actionable steps to address suicidal ideation. For example, the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) training is an evidence-based approach designed to equip university staff and mental health professionals with the skills needed to assess and manage suicide risk effectively. Pairing CAMS training with other evidence-based practices, such as Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Group Skills Training, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP), strengthens the ability to provide a comprehensive approach to prevention and intervention, while addressing the various factors that influence students’ mental health. So, while Suspenders4Hope offers an example of campus wide prevention that treats the water, these evidence-based trainings contribute to providing clinical treatment interventions that treat the fish.

7. Work with Campus Partners

Universities can work with various campus partners to enhance their suicide prevention strategies. Developing teams that include members from different departments across campus provides the opportunity to identify, assess, and implement interventions for students in crisis at the most critical time. Examples include Campus Assessment, Response, and Evaluation (CARE) Teams and University Behavioral Intervention Teams (UBIT), which are multidisciplinary groups that monitor and address concerns within the student population by reviewing reports, assessing risk, developing intervention plans, and providing ongoing support. By incorporating the standard use of a release of information, vital communication can be established between relevant campus partners who work together to ensure a student’s well-being, ultimately strengthening campus case management services. This coordination between campus partners, such as counseling, health services, and academic support provides the best opportunity for student success, care, and safety.

Furthermore, it is essential to integrate peer support programs, Faculty Fellows programs, and partnerships within college courses to bring suicide prevention to the academic side of the university. This approach aligns with the academic missions by involving students and faculty in a proactive approach to support mental health, fostering a caring and informed campus community. These collaborations with campus partners ensure a coordinated approach to supporting students in distress, facilitating communication between departments, and implementing comprehensive interventions.

8. Collaboration with Community Mental Health Resources

It is important for universities to collaborate with community mental health resources to enhance their suicide prevention efforts, as a university counseling center should never operate in isolation, nor should the university itself. These partnerships provide students with access to a broader range of mental health services and resources. Community mental health centers, inpatient psychiatric facilities, and hospitals can offer specialized care and crisis stabilization that complement the university counseling center’s outpatient services. By integrating community resources with MOUs and care coordination practices, universities can extend their support network, ensuring students have access to the help they need both on and off-campus. Students acknowledge they can face both structural and psychological barriers to accessing resources (Cohen et al., 2022), but collaboration with community resources helps bridge gaps in mental health care and provides a safety net for students in crisis, ensuring that no student falls through the cracks.

Conclusion

Suicide prevention on university campuses is a combined effort of a community working together to create a supportive and responsive environment. By utilizing community mental health resources, providing tangible supports, engaging in campus wide initiatives, implementing training, developing training pipelines, integrating mental health into orientation, collaborating with campus partners, and ensuring that counseling centers can effectively treat suicidal clients, universities can create a comprehensive approach to mental health and suicide prevention.

The strategies above highlight the importance of a holistic approach that combines immediate support with long-term prevention efforts. These interventions are effective on their own but become far more powerful when combined. Therefore, investing in a campus focus of prevention and intervention enhances the quality of care provided to students and positively impacts a campus and its surrounding community. Through collaboration and proactive measures, universities can foster a campus culture that prioritizes mental well-being, reduces stigma, and provides students with the resources and support they need to thrive. Universities can indeed become a village that is dedicated to preventing suicide and promoting mental health.