Mental Health and Well-being Deep Dive Workshop

Whole-school approaches to addressing & preventing
self-harm and suicide

Date: 28–29 November 2024
Time: 08:45–17:00 Central European Time (CET)
Location: International School of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This workshop is designed to help you support your students and community with whole-school approaches to addressing and preventing self-harm and suicide. This training opportunity is tailored for all school staff and faculty to contribute to developing a supportive mental health culture and lead your community in this area.

What you will learn:

• what is meant by a whole-school approach to mental health and well-being 
• about the prevalence and risks associated with self-harm and suicidal ideation  
• strategies for early identification, prevention and management of suicide and self-harm in your school’s context 
• how to share and disseminate what you learn in this workshop
• protective factors and preventative strategies
• skills that empower you to participate fully as a member of your school’s well-being and response teams
• how to develop a supportive mental health culture in your school and lead your community in this area

How you will learn:

• from evidence-based materials delivered by clinical and educational experts from the Anna Freud Centre
• with resources and guidance to adapt to your school context
• with a whole school approach to mental health 
• during a schedule that allows plenty of time for personal and group Q&A with experts and CIS staff
• All participants will learn together on Day 1 about how to adopt a whole school approach to mental health and well-being
• On day 2 attendees  will begin by learning together to focus on how to respond to a completed suicide, followed by activity sessions via two strands. 
  • Strand A is designed for anyone in leadership positions—from teaching & learning and well-being to facilities, human resources, and student support. 
  • Strand B is designed for first responders, including anyone in positions of immediate response—teachers, counsellors, boarding parents, and nurses.   

You’ll leave feeling:

• equipped and confident to develop protocols to deal with self-harm and suicide  
• that you understand leading practices for a school’s response to suicide and how to support students and staff 
• aware that you may need to respond to an attempted or completed suicide and confident in your ability to do so  
• well-equipped to take back actions to help your school implement a whole-school approach to mental health and to reduce the risk of self-harm and suicide in your community  

Why learn about this with CIS? 

The content is culturally sensitive and will support our diverse international school community. We draw from research and practice guidance from multi-disciplinary expertise (a clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, experienced school leaders, and safeguarding professionals). Participants can also embrace networking opportunities with other international school counsellors, educators, and school leaders. 

We are proud to partner with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, which has developed and delivered mental health care for over 70 years.