Interactive Screening Program for Suicide Risk in College Students
Each week, the Higher Education Center showcases recent developments in the field of AOD abuse and violence prevention in higher education that may include new data and resources, upcoming events and programs, funding opportunities, and learning opportunities. To see a listing of previous This Week! features, visit the This Week! archive.
June 17, 2011
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has expanded its anonymous Interactive Screening Program (ISP) for college students, which has been shown effective at encouraging those at risk for suicide to seek treatment. The ISP is used by 25 colleges and universities nationwide, with plans to add schools over the next year.
The ISP program employs a secure Web site, where students complete an online screening questionnaire that assesses suicide risk. A personalized response from a campus mental health clinician is provided, which invites those at risk to an in-person meeting. Students who are not ready to come in are urged to have anonymous conversations with the same counselor over the ISP Web site, which provide an opportunity for questions and concerns about treatment to be discussed and resolved. A three-year evaluation study conducted by AFSP and researchers at Emory University (Atlanta, Ga.) pointed to the success of the ISP in bringing students into treatment who would not otherwise have sought help. Based on findings from that study, the ISP has been listed in the Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention maintained by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
Visit the AFSP Web site to download the brochure for the ISP program.