1. Psychologist Veronika Lakis-Mičienė
Didactic Methods for Teaching Children with Mood Disorders: Noticing Risks and Preventing Suicide Crises at School
Psychologist Veronika Lakis-Mičienė

2. What are mood disorder? (ICD-10)
A category of mental health problems
fundamental disturbance is a change in affect/mood:
to depression;
to elation;

3. Symptoms in classroom:
Persistent feelings of sadness
Feeling hopeless or helpless
Having low self-esteem
Feeling inadequate
Excessive guilt
Feelings of wanting to die
Loss of interest in usual activities or activities once enjoyed
Difficulty with relationships
Sleep disturbances (for example, insomnia, or hypersomnia)
Changes in appetite or weight
Decreased energy
Difficulty concentrating
A decrease in the ability to make decisions
Suicidal thoughts or attempts
Frequent physical complaints (for example, headache, stomach-ache, or fatigue)
Running away or threats of running away from home
Hypersensitivity to failure or rejection
Irritability, hostility, aggression

4. Symptoms in classroom:
Difficulty achieving in school
Constant anger
Rebellious behaviours
Trouble with family
Difficulty with friends and peers

5. Why do we need to talk about suicide?
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29- year-olds in the world;
children with mood disorders are at higher risk of becoming suicidal.

6. Age-standardized suicide rates (per 100 000 population), both sexes, 2012, WHO

7. How big is the problem?

8. One class of schoolchildren
930, from them:
One class of schoolchildren

9. Personal attitudes towards suicide: what helps and interferes to notice signs?
„ASSIST“ training

11. Myths about suicide

12. Once we become aware of our attitudes – they are less likely to interfere.

13. Why do people commit suicide?
Biological
Psychological
Environmental factors

14. Warning signs: how to notice that student is suicidal?
What do they say?
How do they feel?
How do they act?

15. Behavior we see: Threatening to hurt or kill themselves
Planning ways to kill themselves and/ or trying to access the means to kill themselves
Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide
Expressing feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, that life is not worth living
Engaging in reckless or risky behaviour without concern for their safety
Talking or writing about being a burden to others
Increasing their use of drugs or alcohol
Withdrawing from friends, teachers and family
Noticeable changes in mood including increased levels of anger or agitation
Taking less care in their appearance (not washing, appearing dishevelled, etc.)
Giving away possessions
Saying goodbye to loved ones.

16. How to talk about suicide?
Seriously
Ask them directly
Show you care
Calmly

17. If immediate or high risk:
stay with them
contact their parent or guardian
remove access to methods of suicide or harm
contact mental health service

18. Do not: take on the role of being a counsellor;
do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable;
guarantee confidentiality to a student.

19. Returning to school following self-harm or attempted suicide
Collaborative approach to supporting the young person at school
Identify a key contact at school
Information sharing with school staff
Safety plan
Graduated return to school
Discussing the suicide attempt or selfharm with other students?

20. Safety plan

21. React as a community: school policy on
Prevention
Intervention
Postvention

22. How do we talk?
Romeo and Julieta?

23. How do we talk?
On 28 March 1941, Woolf drowned herself 

24. How do we talk?
On 27 July 1890, aged 37, Van Gogh shot himself 

25. How do we talk?

26. Helpful attitudes towards suicide in your classroom
Non-judgmental
Unromanticised
Help seeking
“There is always way out”

27. How to helps myself?

28. How to helps myself? Seek out your support team
Debrief with external professionals
Monitor your own reactions and take care of your personal needs
Plan ahead where possible and have a contingency plan to manage difficult situations in the classroom/school
Maintain structure and routine in the classroom

29. How to helps myself? Time management
Take some time out and arrange for someone to relieve you if you feel unable to carry out your role
Use positive coping strategies to manage distress
Avoid unhealthy coping strategies
Maintain a healthy work/life balance
If difficulties persist beyond a few weeks after the suicide, staff are encouraged to seek additional support or professional help.