Parachute

A Suicide Prevention and Coping Skills Program for Teenagers

In Australia, more than 2000 deaths per year are recorded as suicides. More than 400 of these deaths each year are young people aged 15 to 24. Rates of depression and anxiety in young people are also on the rise. Many young people are experiencing difficult times.

Younger people often do not know how to cope during these times of crisis. Unlike older adults, this is frequently the first time in their life they have lived with real emotional suffering and commonly feel bewildered and devastated by the experience. Young people in pain often do not know where to turn, or what to do.

Many suicides, suicide attempts and other destructive methods of “coping” can be prevented -if teenagers know alternative ways of managing difficult times. Fortunately, the ability to cope with tough times in a constructive way, can be taught and learnt. Strategies to survive relationship break-up (one of the most common precipitating factors in suicide), to cope with feelings of depression (present in almost all completed suicides), to deal with anxiety, stress and family change can all be acquired.

The Parachute program teaches young people strategies for dealing with difficult times. Through Parachute, young people learn ways of coping with feelings of stress, depression and anxiety, and to manage difficult situations like family change, school pressure and peer conflict. Young people learn to deal with feelings of loneliness, worthlessness and hopelessness, in ways that help, rather than hinder their growth. Parachute has been recognised as a innovative and successful program, and has been presented at the 2002 International Adolescent Mental Health conference in Brisbane.

Parachute aims to be proactive in giving young people ideas for coping before a crisis emerges. It aims to increase protective factors that build resilience and prevent suicide, suicide attempts and other destructive “coping” behaviour. Unashamedly, Parachute aims to save lives.

Brief Overview of Parachute

Because all school communities are different, the format of Parachute varies from school to school. For some schools it is appropriate that the entire school is involved, for others it is most convenient to simply involve senior school students.

Generally however, Parachute is a several day process of listening, hands-on learning, the bringing together of resources, problem solving and sharing. It involves an entire community, including the school, parents, teachers, student leaders and community groups. It is open-ended, and has a strong focus on follow-up and ongoing activities and consultation.

Specifically there are 10 key elements of the program.
Orientation
Student Seminars
Parent Seminar
Teacher Seminar
Student Leadership (Peer Supporter) Workshop
“Coping card' Project
Follow-up curriculum
Community Collaboration
Ongoing Consultation
Evaluation

Each element is briefly explained below.

1. Orientation

This first stage involves initial research in a few key areas. First, the local community resources for young people are investigated so they can be “tapped into” over the course of the project. Second, the ethos of the participating school or college is sought out in order that all seminars are as closely linked to the school philosophy as possible. Third, attitudes and opinions of some of the students of the school are also sought in order to make the seminars as appropriate and pertinent as possible.

2. Student Seminars

Research shows that suicide in young people generally occurs in the context of a young person feeling depressed, anxious or hopeless about life. These feelings often occur during times of crises, for example when a teenager goes through a relationship breakup, when school stress is high or when experiencing crises with friends. However, feelings of anxiety, depression, worthlessness and hopelessness can also occur without any specific triggers. Parachute student seminars are designed to teach students ways of managing these feelings and coping with difficult times. A number of topics are covered including:

- Normalising the experience of difficult times
- Understanding how emotions work
- Talking about different kinds of reactions to difficult times
- Giving strategies to building up resilience NOW when feeling okay
- Providing means of coping in crisis
- Discussing ways of helping friends who are troubled

Student seminars are held throughout the Parachute period, generally with 2-3 seminars per year level, (depending on student numbers) with each seminar lasting approximately 90 minutes. Seminar content is similar across year levels, but may be modified according to developmental level. Seminars are interactive in style, relevant in content and entertaining in form.

3. Parent Seminar

Parents of teenagers are often a suffering species! They often feel worried about their sons and daughters, sometimes feeling helpless in knowing what to do and how to be involved. Parent training is an essential part of Parachute. It aims to educate parents about teenage suicide but additionally, give practical ideas on helping their (sometimes prickly) teenagers cope with tough times. A number of topics are covered including:

- The facts about youth suicide
- Suicide awareness training - signs to watch for
- What to do if a young person seems suicidal
- What can be done to build resilience in young people

The parent seminar is approximately 90 - 120 minutes, including small group discussion. It is designed for parents of young people aged 10 to 18 years.

4. Teacher Seminar

Teachers are often the individuals young people have most contact with during their week. Sometimes teachers are aware of problems for young people before anyone else. Unfortunately teachers often feel ill-equipped to identify or deal with a troubled young person. Parachute’s teacher workshop aims to help teachers gain a better understanding of youth suicide and, without placing responsibility on their shoulders, teaches how teachers can assist in suicide prevention. The content is similar to the parent workshop, however the material is specifically designed for teachers in a school setting. A number of topics are covered including:

- The facts about youth suicide
- Suicide awareness training - signs to watch for
- What to do if a young person seems suicidal
- What can be done to build resilience in young people

The teacher seminar is approximately 60 - 90 minutes.

5. Student Leadership Workshop

Student leaders often determine the ethos of a school. They have special privilege and responsibility, despite being frequently unaware of their status. They are sometimes able to shape attitudes and behaviours, more effectively than older people in a school setting. In this respect, peer education has been used successful in many settings and with a range of topic areas.

The Parachute program capitalises on the effectiveness of peer education, by taking a group of student leaders and providing them with a slightly different and more advanced seminar. The focus is widened to include more specific information on how to help their peers in crisis. A number of topics are covered including:

- Bringing a school community together
- The role of student leaders
- Being aware of students in difficult times
- Helping friends and other students in crisis

The student leadership workshop is approximately 90 minutes.

6. Parachute “Coping Card”

Adolescents have short attention spans. The danger of “one-off” externally based programs is that young people, although taking on information at the time, forget key elements when times do get difficult.

In order to counter this problem, an essential part of Parachute is the creation of a “coping card” which is designed to be a long-standing reminder for young people, of the principles discussed in the student seminar. In essence, a business size card is produced with a few key points about coping in difficult times, along with crisis phone numbers. All students receive a business card for them to carry with them, and sometimes schools have a policy that every new middle or high school student receive one each year, as part of orientation. Past experience shows these cards can save lives.

7. Follow-up Lessons

This component of Parachute is also designed to emphasise and reinforce in an ongoing way, the coping skills message of the Parachute week.

Two 45 minute lesson plans, including worksheets, overheads and handout masters and provided for school teachers to incorporate into existing curriculum. These lessons are discussion based, use hypothetical situations and are designed to increase awareness of coping strategies. Lesson one covers the issues that trouble young people, and lesson two covers how young people can constructively manage “tough stuff”.

These lessons can be used in a variety of subjects including: health education, social studies, english, physical education and nutrition. By including follow-up curriculum, Parachute becomes part of the school philosophy and culture, promoted by the school rather than just by an outside source.

8. Community Collaboration

In most communities in Australia, there are existing resources for young people in difficult times. Counselling centres, community centres, police programs, church groups, health organisations, government agencies, web pages, networks of general practitioners are just a few of the resources which are often available to young people in crisis. For the most successful outcome for young people, it is essential to “tap into” these resources rather than work independently of them.

Parachute aims to collaborate with community resources in two ways. First, Parachute initially researches the kinds of resources which are available for young people in that particular community. This information is collated and presented in appropriate forms for teachers, parents and students. Second, community agencies are invited to the parent seminar to network with parents and give them information about resources young people have access to. Finally, if appropriate community agencies may meet prior to this seminar to “brain-storm” about long term approaches to increasing resiliency in young people. Parachute would facilitate this process if this was appropriate.

9. Ongoing Consultation

Once Parachute has taken place in a school setting, all teachers and school staff have unlimited access to email consultation with psychologists specialised in youth issues. If for example, there is a suicide attempt or other crisis in the school several years after the Parachute program, teachers would be able to instantly access support and advice via email about managing this time.

10. Evaluation

It is important to evaluate the success and usefulness of the Parachute project. This evaluation is done thoughout Parachute and a full evaluation is made available to the school shortly after the conclusion of the project.

Investment Required

The costs involved in running Parachute vary from school to school based on the number of seminars required, which depends on the number of students, parents and teachers at the school. For details on costs, please contact Innovate Psychology directly.

Conclusion

The emotional well-being of young people in Australia is one of our highest priorities as a society. There is no question that Australians care about young people. The question is how do we best do this. This is where Parachute may be of assistance. Parachute assists teachers, parents and community groups to actively care for young people and teach them resiliency skills which are essential for living life to the full.

For more information about Parachute, or to book an appointment to discuss how Parachute might work in your school or workplace, please ring or email Innovate Psychology.

Please note the ideas, content and principles of Parachute are the intellectual property of Kirrilie Smout © 2002