Caring for Your Mind: Self-Care Practices for Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Kanessa Miller Doss, TUFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Troy University

First Presenter’s Email Address

kmdoss@troy.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Kanessa Miller Doss is an Associate Professor of Psychology and COE Director of Operations- Montgomery Campus at Troy University. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) and National Certified Counselor (NCC). In the state of Alabama, Dr. Doss is a certified School Counselor and School Psychologist. She is an Associate Licensed Professional Counselor in Georgia and a certified QPR Gatekeeper in Suicide Prevention Training instructor. She is a member and board member of several community and professional organizations. Her research interests are social-emotional functioning with an emphasis on school/college campus violence, bullying, school psychology advocacy, youth suicide, and accessibility issues.

Second Presenter's Institution

Troy University

Second Presenter’s Email Address

scrawford@troy.edu

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Dr. Sherrionda H. Crawford is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation & Interpreter Training at Troy University. She is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), credentialed as both a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) in Georgia and Alabama, as well as a Certified School Counselor in the state of Alabama. She worked as a clinical and school counselor for children and adults before joining Troy University. Dr. Crawford actively serves as a mentor and scholarship reviewer for the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). Her research interests include trends in school counseling to include interpersonal violence and suicide prevention, as well as skill acquisition for counselors-in-training.

Location

Session Six

Strand #1

Health: Mental & Physical Health

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

Self-care is a critical component for mental wellness, and an indirect proactive factor for suicide. It promotes emotional and psychological well-being through tools to help individuals navigate challenges and maintain balance. Physical, emotional, and social self-care practices are directly related to three major suicide proactive factors: effective behavioral health care, connectedness, and life skills. This presentation relates to the “HEALTH”: Mental & Physical Health and “HEART”: Social & Emotional Skills strands

Brief Program Description

Life can be overwhelming and destressing, prioritizing self-care can improve mental well-being. This interactive session will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and tools to enhance your mental health and support others on their wellness journey. Let’s delve into the connection between self-care and suicide prevention together. Come join us for a transformative experience and practice self-care activities for mental wellness and preventing suicide.

Summary

Mental health and suicide prevention for all ages, especially youth are popular topics in the media. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 school-aged children have psychological and mental symptoms to meet the criteria for one or more childhood mental disorders such as oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and anxiety disorder (Danielson et al., 2021). Suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals ages 10-34 (CDC, n. d.). Thus, it is important to find practical strategies to improve outcomes for students. Using self-care activities may enhance students’ mental wellness and prevent suicide in schools to improve their overall success and well-being during school and beyond.

This presentation aims to provide participants with an introduction to self-care, mental wellness, and suicidality to include definitions, prevalence, warning signs, protective factors, and targeted populations with elevated risk. Second, we will brainstorm and evaluate mental health and suicide prevention resources including support networks and hotlines. Third, the participants will practice self-care techniques to improve mental health and well-being such as journaling, breathing exercises, writing affirmations, etc. After completing this session, participants will receive a list of resources and activities.

Evidence

Literature supports the need for techniques to improve mental health well-being and prevent suicide. Practicing self-care can provide protective factors for suicide prevention and enhance mental health wellness.

References:

Asarnow, J. R., & Miranda, J. (2014). Improving care for depression and suicide risk in adolescents: Innovative strategies for bringing treatments to community settings. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 275–303.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2022. Risk and protective factors. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/factors/index.html

Dastagir, A. E., & Lo, T. (2020, April 23). Suicide prevention: Self-care tips, true stories on how survivors cope. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/surviving-suicide/2018/11/28/suicide-prevention-tips-true-stories-how-survivors-cope/1112169002/

Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., Holbrook, J. R., Charania, S. N., Claussen, A. H., McKeown, R. E., Cuffe, S. P., Owens, J. S., Evans, S. W., Kubicek, L., & Flory, K. (2021). Community‑Based Prevalence of Externalizing and Internalizing Disorders among School‑Aged Children and Adolescents in Four Geographically Dispersed School Districts in the United States. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 52,500–514 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01027-z

Kirby, K., Sweeney, S., Armour, C., Goetzke, K., Dunne, M., Davidson, M., & Belfer, M. (2022). Developing Hopeful Minds: Can teaching hope improve well-being and factors in children? Child Care in Practice, 28(4), 504–521.

Ohl, M., & Medcalf, T. (2021). The School Counselling Partnership: Providing support and promoting self-care for school communities. In M. Jayman, M. Ohl, & L. Jewett (Eds.), Supporting new digital natives: Children’s mental health and wellbeing in a hi-tech age. (pp. 60–77). Policy Press.

Skovgaard Larsen, J. L., Frandsen, H., & Erlangsen, A. (2016). MYPLAN – A mobile phone application for supporting people at risk of suicide. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 37(3), 236–240.

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). (2020). Risk and protective factors. Retrieved from https://sprc.org/risk-and-protective-factors/

Ziomek-Daigle, Jolie, and Russ Curtis. 2017. “Future Directions and Trends in Counseling Children and Adolescents.” In Counseling Children and Adolescents: Working in School and Clinical Mental Health Settings., edited by Jolie Ziomek-Daigle, 478–94. New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Learning Objective 1

Describe the link between self-care techniques, mental health, and suicidality. Highlight the importance of suicidality including prevalence, warning signs, protective factors, and populations with elevated risk.

Learning Objective 2

Examine and choose mental wellness and suicide prevention resources.

Learning Objective 3

Practice self-care techniques to improve mental health and well-being.

Keyword Descriptors

self-care, mental health, suicide, prevention, proactive factors, wellness, stress reduction, well-being

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-5-2024 11:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Miller Doss, Kanessa, "Caring for Your Mind: Self-Care Practices for Mental Wellness and Suicide Prevention" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 60.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/60