School Counselor Blog

Suicide Prevention and Intervention Resources for School Counselors

2026-10-07T20:29:49.091-04:00

This summer, I attended Angela Avery's session about suicide prevention at the ASCA Conference in New Orleans, LA. I left inspired and thinking about what I could do to increase my efforts related to suicide prevention at my school.

I am also currently teaching Internship 2 as an adjunct professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. I view part of my role in teaching future school counselors as providing them with information and resources that they will need in their daily work. One of the recent themes was Suicide Prevention and Intervention. I shared some important resources from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) as well as presentations from national speakers about suicide prevention. I kept thinking about how some people might not know about these resources and how important it is to share information that can literally help save a life. So I am sharing them with YOU!

I hope these resources give you a starting point for engaging in suicide prevention at your school. A huge thanks to Angela Avery for inspiring this post and the work she does to promote suicide prevention to school counselors!

Click on the images or links below to access the resources.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has a dedicated page on their website that has links to resources for suicide prevention and response. View it here: ASCA Suicide Prevention and Response.

ASCA hasa comprehensive information gathering tool on their website that you can utilize when there is a suicide concern. This tool has talking points for meeting with students, talking with caregivers, and links to resources. It is a great source of information and can help guide your session with a student. View it here: The Information Gathering Tool: Suicide Concern.

View the ASCA position statement about suicide and risk assessment here: The School Counselor and Suicide Risk Assessment.

View the ASCA position statement about suicide prevention, intervention and postvention here: The School Counselor and Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention.

There is an issue of the ASCA School Counselor Magazine dedicated to suicide prevention and response. View the digital version of the magazine here: ASCA Magazine January/February 2023 - Save Our Students.

ASCA has a quick guide to use when responding to a student expressing suicidal ideation. View the guide here: A Quick Guide to Support Students with Suicidal Ideation: Information Gathering Tool and Best Practices.

Angela Avery, an amazing Main school counselor (and friend!), was interviewed for the ASCA I Hear You Say Podcast at the 2026 ASCA Conference in New Orleans, LA about the school counselor's role in suicide prevention. Angela has a wealth of information to share! This is a must listen, especially if you do not know where to start with suicide prevention. Listen to the I Hear You Say podcast episode here: Episode 63: Connection as Prevention: The School Counselor's Role in Suicide Prevention.

Speaking of Angela Avery has presented nationally about suicide prevention, is a contributor to the ASCA Magazine, has hosted ASCA Webinars and was interviewd for the ASCA I Hear You Say podcast (above) about suicide prevention. Here are links to a magazine article Angeal wrote and a webinar she delivered:

ASCA Magazine: Suicide Prevention for All
ASCA Webinar: Suicide Prevention for All Students

Hatching Results hosts a webinar series called The Hatching Hour. Recently, Steve Sharp and Dr. Vanessa Gomez hosted a session about tiered supports for suicide prevention. Access the webinar here: Tiered Supports for Suicide Prevention.

Steve Sharp and Dr. Perri Rose wrote a book about suicide prevention for schools! Purchase the book here: Lives Worth Living: Applying Zero Suicide as a Prevention Approach for Schools.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) is an amazing resource for suicide prevention materials. I highly encourage you to explore their site because there is so many resources that you can use. In addition to digital resources, SAMHSA allows you to order print resources for FREE. Yes, you read that correctly. You can order individual items or make a bulk order. This picture shows items I ordered and got delivered to my school for FREE. I ordered magnets, stickers, posters, and safety plan pads. I gave each teacher a magnet years ago and they are displayed in the majority of classrooms at my school.

Visit the SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Toolkit for resources you can use all year long for suicide prevention.
Visit SAMHSA 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Partner Toolkit for digital resources promoting 998 Suicide Hotline and suicide prevention education
Visit 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Print Materials to order print materials.

The Positive Paint Project is a painting project with a focus on mental health awareness and suicide prevention local to Pittsburgh, PA. Anyone can participate and host their own painting session where students can paint cardstock prints with messages like "You Are Not Alone," "Hold on to Hope," and "It's OK to Not Be OK." Please check out their website for more information, resources, and to purchase apparrel! Since I found out about The Positive Paining Project I have hosted an event at my school every year in September. For more details visit: The Positive Painting Project.

A representative from Erika's Lighthouse presented at our recent Allegheny County School Counselors Association meeting. Erika's Lighthouse offers a free K-12 Mental Health Curriculum for schools and suicide prevention resources. Learn more about Erika's Lighthouse here: Erika's Lighthouse.

There are also some organization that have student led suicide prevention resources.

Erika's Lighthouse: Give Voice
#ZeroReasonsWhy - They have great posts on Instagram -@zeroreasonswhy_
Hope Squad

At Angela Avery's sesion at ASCA 26 this summer she shared that she wears shirts related to suicide prevention as a conversation starter with students. This is a simple gesture but can make a difference to students. Check out Angela's instagram (@schoolcounselorproject) to see her wearing her 988 shirt from CFC Wear. I recently bought a shirt from Positive Painting Project that says "You are Not Alone" and a shirt from CFC Wear that says "Keep Going" and "Be Kind to Yourself Always." The Happiness Project also has mental health awareness shirts. Check out the links below.

What was your favorite resource I shared? Do you use any of these resources? What are your go to suicide prevention resources?

Connect with Danielle!

If you have questions, connect with me on on Instagram, Facebook, BlueSky, LinkedIn or email me at danielle@schcounselor.com.

If you use this idea, I would love to see it in action! Tag me or share with me!

Need a speaker for your school counseling group?

Book Danielle for an in-person or virtual workshop for your local, state, or national school counseling conference here: http://bit.ly/drsworkshop.

Start with Hello Week Photo Wall: Make Someone Smile Monday!

2026-09-20T18:08:06.134-04:00

A few years ago I created a photo wall for Meet the Teacher Night at my school. It was a fun way to engage students and parents during the event. After creating that photo wall activity, I modified it for Start with Hello Week. Below I share resources to make your own DIY Photo Wall for Start with Hello Week.

To make the Start with Hello Week Photo Wall and Selfie Station I used the following:

Photo Wall Backdrop (I have used this many times and it holds up so well! I love how colorful it is and I honestly can't believe it's under $15!)
Astrobrights Cardstock
Jumbo Craft Sticks
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
Start with Hello Week Photo Props (Editable) Canva Template
Frog Tape to hang the Photo Wall Backdrop on the Wall
Scissors

I printed all the Start with Hello Week Photo Props (Editable) on Astrobrights cardstock. I then cut them out and glued the jumbo craft sticks on the back with a hot glue gun. I let them dry overnight.

On the day of Make Someone Smile Monday, I arrange the photo props on a table with a sign. I hang the photo wall backdrop on a nearby wall with the Frog tape.

Students take a selfie or have someone take their picture in front of the photo backdrop. I have students from the student group I run help take pictures in front of the photo wall with my school iPad. We then display them on the school TVs using this template: Make Someone Smile Monday!

I love kicking off Start with Hello Week with this Photo Wall activity. It is so fun to see students taking selfies and photos in front of the photo wall! Check out my post for more Start with Hello Week Ideas.

Here's what I am planning for the week.

How will you use this Start with Hello Photo Wall with students?

Shop this Post!

Connect with Danielle!

If you have questions, connect with me on on Instagram, Facebook, BlueSky, LinkedIn or email me at danielle@schcounselor.com.

If you use this idea, I would love to see it in action! Tag me or share with me!

Need a speaker for your school counseling group?

Request an in-person or virtual workshop for your local, state, or national school counseling conference here: http://bit.ly/drsworkshop.

Popcorn & Advocacy - Popcorn Themed NSCW Idea 🍿📣

2026-02-03T08:24:00.002-05:00

Roll out the red carpet for National School Counseling Week with some popcorn and advocacy! 🍿📣

For Open House and outside of the School Counseling Office at my school I have a Popcorn theme. A few years ago, I decided to carry over the popcorn theme into National School Counseling Week. Let me be the first to tell you that you do not have to reinvent the wheel for NSCW! This post contains everything you need to host a 🍿 Popcorn Themed National School Counseling Week.

These are some pictures of the displays I made to share information (and treats!) with staff.

More treats and information. 🍿📣

Treats

It is always fun to include a treat for teachers and staff when you are educating them about NSCW and the role of school counselors. I am a big fan of Lesser Evil Popcorn (not sponsored, but I wish!) and they have some really tasty Valentine-themed popcorn that is white chocolate strawberry. I also love how the colors matched my theme! 🤩🍿

Below are some current links for these treats. I also have seen this popcorn at Aldi!

Lesser Evil Popcorn 8-Pack from Target

Lesserevil Valentine's Sweetheart Pop Popcorn - 14.4oz/ 24ct

Pirate Booty Valentine's Day 18 Pack

Links to Materials

What's Poppin'? Sign

This idea was inspired by Dr. Sarah Kirk. She shared an image with all the different roles and responsibilities that she was involved in as a school counselor. I decided to create a popcorn version to match with my theme. Click here or on the image below for an editable Canva template of this image.

Thank You for Popping by Cards

I created these cards to attach to bags of popcorn.

NSCW Pop Quiz (sign)

I made this short "Pop Quiz" as a way to engage teachers and share some information about School Counseling. I made this image with a QR code that teachers can scan to take the "Pop Quiz."

NSCW Pop Quiz (editable Google Form)

I used Google Forms to create the "Pop Quiz."

School Counselor Support Sign

I create this sign to share how school counselors support students.

"Who Are School Counselors?" Infographic from ASCA

On the table I share copies of this "Who Are School Counselors?" Infographic from ASCA. It is a great way to showcase our role and give more information about how we serve students.

School Counselor Sign with the G-Word Crossed Out from ASCA

And last, but not least, one of my favorite additions to the table: X G-Word Sign. This is a great way to share our title of SCHOOL COUNSELOR vs. the g-word. 😉

This year the theme for National School Counseling Week is "School Counselors Amplify Student Success!"

ASCA National School Counseling Week Materials

Did you know that ASCA has a ton of promotional materials for #NSCW26?

They include:

📸 Photo challenge templates

📰 Press releases

🏆 Certificates of appreciation

📱Social media images

Check them out here:

🔗 https://bit.ly/nscw24toolkit

Hope you have a great week celebrating, educating, and advocating!

Happy National School Counseling Week, everyone! I hope you have a great week! #schoolcounselor #scchat #NSCW26

Connect with Danielle!

If you have questions, connect with me on on Instagram, Facebook, BlueSky, LinkedIn or email me at danielle@schcounselor.com.

If you use this idea, I would love to see it in action! Tag me or share with me!

Need a speaker for your school counseling group?

Book Danielle for an in-person or virtual workshop for your local, state, or national school counseling conference here: http://bit.ly/drsworkshop.