Liberated School Suicide Postvention Study & Inquiry Series
October 9, 2024 • December 4, 2024 • February 5, 2025 • April 2, 2025
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT / 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
How might we guide ourselves and the field toward community-responsive and critically reflexive liberated school postvention policy development and practice implementation?
In this iteration of our community of practice, we want to engage in shared meaning-making by holding space for lived experiences and reviewing research and articles from experts in the field. This series is designed to hold conversations and co-create resources for liberated school suicide postvention policy and practice.
We will use a “Socratic style” conversation to facilitate rich discussion, two of our sessions will be dialogue driven by lived experiences of school support staff navigating postvention from a liberated lens; and two sessions will center on a critical reflection around current research.
How might it feel?
A Socratic seminar is a teaching method founded on Socratic principles. It emphasizes open-ended dialogue, critical thinking, and collaborative inquiry. In these seminars, participants engage in thoughtful discussions, asking and answering questions to stimulate deeper understanding and explore complex ideas.
Text Study Sessions
- Goal: To foster a deeper understanding of postvention practices and how they can be applied in a school setting.participants will delve into a carefully selected text that addresses school suicide postvention.
- Process: Through guided questions and facilitated dialogue, attendees will explore the themes, challenges, and strategies presented in the text.
- Materials: Facilitators will send registered participants the text we are focusing on previous to the session
Problem of Practice
- Goal: To provide a platform for practical problem-solving and peer support, leveraging collective expertise to address postvention challenges.
- Process: This session will center on a real-world problem of practice and policy related to school suicide postvention. Participants will collaborate in small groups to engage in critical reflexivity, share experiences, and brainstorm potential solutions.
- Content: Facilitators will invite members of this community of practice to volunteer to receive thought-partnership about a dilemma before each of these sessions
Sequence
- Session 1: October 9, 2024 Text Study
- Session 2: December 4, 2024 Problem of Practice
- Session 3: February 5, 2025 Text Study
- Session 4: April 2, 2025 Problem of Practice
Learning Goals
- Develop tools and resources relating to liberated suicide postvention policy and practice to be shared with the field.
- Collaborate with other school-focused postvention professionals to expand the conversation on school suicide postvention toward renewal.
- Apply a liberated lens to school postvention practice and policy by examining and critiquing current strategies in the literature.
Resources (optional priming resources for participants)
- School Suicide Postvention x Recovery and Renewal Embracing and Expanding Postvention in / for Our Schools
- Leading with Courage, Care, & Connection: A Reflection Guide for School Leaders Navigating Recovery & Renewal After Student Deaths by Suicide” (SCRR, 2024) – our new reflection guide created from conversations and learnings in our previous postvention communities of practice and workgroups!
Intended Audience
- This community of practice is for anyone who supports student and staff mental health in school settings, state, district, and county school administrators, student support services providers, and anyone interested.
- Previous community of practice attendees and those who have not attended an SCRR suicide postvention community of practice are welcome!
- Note: This program is a continuation of previous SCRR postvention conversations, but we are very open to new participants!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this program eligible for Continuing Education Hours (CEH)? No.
- Will this offering be recorded? No.
- Do I need to attend all four sessions? Each session can function as a stand-alone experience, but attending all four is recommended to maintain group rapport, trust and connection.
- Who can I contact if I have additional questions? Email us at scrr [at] cars-rp.org with “SCRR Suicide Postvention CoP” in the subject line.
Faculty
Zeruiah [Zair- roo- eye- uh] Buchanan (she/her)
Zeruiah is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. She is a social and legal epidemiologist focusing on mental health liberation, structural oppression, amelioration of policy, and intersectionality praxis. Her former education includes psychology, Africana studies, community health education, epidemiology, and biostatistics. Her previous experience as a Program Counselor at Peninsula Behavioral Health Hospital and a Suicide Prevention Epidemiologist at Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System sparked most of her passion to talk about suicide prevention, postvention, and care. Making a world worth living drives the work that she engages in professionally and personally.
Brianna Young (she/hers), M.Ed
SCRR Field Coach with Trauma Transformed
Brianna Young is a Midwest native, currently based in the Bay Area. Her role is a Lead Trainer and Project Specialist with Trauma Transformed, and serves as a Field Coach for the School Crisis Recovery and Renewal project. Having started her professional career as a middle school teacher and instructional coach, Brianna has a particular heart for schools and all the potential they hold. She obtained her Masters of Education from Concordia University, emphasizing Trauma and Resilience in Educational Settings. Brianna dedicates this work to teachers who view their classrooms as healing spaces, and to the students who walk through those doors.
