About the Support Our Students (SOS) Program
In 2005, Maryville University began Support Our Students (SOS), a suicide prevention program based on a highly successful program at the University of Illinois. The purpose of the program is to provide help and services to students in crisis. Any individual (friend, relative, faculty, residence hall staff, staff member) can notify the SOS team if a student they know makes a suicidal threat or gesture. This report paves the way for the referred student to enter a system of professional help by requiring them to complete four sessions of assessment with a professional. The student's safety is the main concern for those involved with the program. Every effort is made to respect and protect the student's confidentiality, provided that their safety is maintained. The SOS team can only work with students who have been brought to their attention, so please complete the attached "Self Harm Incident Form" and submit it to a member of the SOS team as soon as you become aware of any suicidal threat or gesture of one of our students.
Members of the SOS Team
| Name | Office Phone | E-Mail Address | |||
| Dr. Nina Caldwell Vice President of Student Life University Center 102 |
314.529.9283 | ncaldwell@maryville.edu | |||
| Jennifer Henry Director of Personal Counseling University Library |
314.529.9556 | jhenry@maryville.edu | |||
| Pam Culliton Director of Health and Wellness University Library |
314.529.9520 | pculliton@maryville.edu | |||
| Linda Meyers Personal Counselor University Library |
314.529.9556 | lmeyers@maryville.edu | |||
Definitions of Suicidal Behaviors
- Incident report will be filled out when public statements or behaviors are made
within the last three months, which indicate an action or intent to end one's life. - Default will be to the "reasonable" observer with regards to intent or observed
action, no matter how the student later wants to explain away the action. - Suicide attempts include all of the following:
- Suicide threats or attempts
- Taking medications in inappropriate doses intending to end one's life
- ANY attempt at suicide, even if the attempt was self-aborted
- Actions that prepare for eventual suicide, like stockpiling prescriptions, buying
poisons, etc. - Intent to "sleep forever"
- Self destructive behaviors – when the intent is suicide* (taking medications in
dangerous amounts, cutting, anorexia, bulimia and other damaging behaviors) - Significant ideation about death, dying or committing suicide
- Euphemisms or jokes (after the student has been asked to stop doing so). Initial joking or euphemism intent is clarified and a request to stop such behavior by friends or companions is made.
Support Our Students - Self-Harm Incident Form (pdf)
Links for More Information on Suicide Prevention
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ - Veteran's Suicide Prevention Hotline:
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/Veterans/Default.aspx - University of Illinois "Suicide Prevention":
http://www.counselingcenter.illinois.edu/?page_id=53 - National Strategy for Suicide Prevention:
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/suicideprevention/fivews.asp - University of Illinois Counseling Center:
www.counselingcenter.illinois.edu/?page_id=148 - Suicide Prevention Resource Center:
www.sprc.org/
