Responding to Suicide Risk: Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention in Schools
Date: September 9, 2026
Time: 1:00-2:00pm UTC
About this webinar
This webinar introduces ISCA’s newly created Suicide Awareness & Prevention Toolkit (SAPT), a best practice-informed pilot resource designed specifically for international schools. Led by the SAPT creators this session provides practical guidance across suicide awareness and prevention, intervention, and postvention. Participants will explore school ready tools and real-world applications to strengthen policies, respond effectively to risk, and support school communities before, during, and after a crisis. These tools are designed for counselors, leaders and school mental health professionals emphasizing action, consistency, and cultural responsiveness
Speakers
Chrystal Kelly is an international school counselor with over 20+ years counseling, teaching, mentoring and coaching that has been shaped by a strong passion for crisis planning and suicide awareness and prevention. After experiencing firsthand how suicide affects families and friends and then starting her counseling career in Colorado, USA–where suicide and violence has affected schools and communities at a concerningly high rate–Chrystal became devoted to strengthening school systems’ ability to protect students and families through proactive crisis response, compassionate intervention, and comprehensive mental-health support. Chrystal currently works at The American International School of Muscat in Oman and is an ISCA Task Force Member where she continues to be committed to empowering all stakeholders to lead with confidence in crisis preparedness, prevention and intervention to promote both physical and psychological safety for school communities around the world.
Lina Paumgarten is an international school counselor, consultant, and TCK with over 25+ years of experience supporting global communities. Her passion for suicide prevention is deeply personal—shaped by the loss of both her grandmother and aunt to suicide, and later by the death of a student, which propelled her into developing comprehensive prevention and intervention approaches for international schools. Lina is currently completing her doctoral dissertation on suicide prevention in international schools, focusing on a train-the-trainer model designed to build sustainable systems of care. She provides counseling and consulting through Linden Global Support Services, working with schools, families, and individuals worldwide. To learn more about her ICARE framework—Identify warning signs, Connect with empathy, Ask directly about suicide, Reduce/Remove risk, and Escort to help—or to connect professionally, please visit linapaumgarten.com or contact info@linapaumgarten.com.
