Youth Suicide: Awareness & Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention for International Schools

This 6-hour interactive training is designed for school counselors, leaders, and mental health professionals working in international school settings, where resources, protocols, and cultural contexts around suicide prevention can vary widely. Grounded in best practices and real-world application, the course introduces the Suicide Awareness & Prevention Toolkit (SAPT), developed by Scott Poland, Chrystal Kelly, and Lina Paumgarten.

Participants will be guided through a comprehensive, school-based approach that moves beyond awareness into clear, coordinated action. The training focuses on three interconnected domains—awareness and prevention, intervention, and postvention—equipping participants with practical, school-ready tools to strengthen policies, respond effectively to student risk, and support the wider school community before, during, and after a crisis.

Intended Audience

International school counselors PK-12, school mental health professionals, and administrators

ISCA Student Standards

The International School Counselor Association Student Standards serve as a guiding framework throughout this course, supporting the development of strategies that promote student safety and well-being; however, rather than applying a single standard universally, the Suicide Awareness & Prevention Toolkit (SAPT) is used flexibly to align with the specific needs of each case and school context, ensuring culturally responsive and situation-appropriate implementation.

Specifically, we will cover how to support students develop the following skills:

Social/Emotional

Standard A: Students will demonstrate the dispositions, knowledge, and skills to develop and maintain positive
relationships with self and others
Competency A1 ~ Social & Self-Awareness

SE:A1:2 Identify and express feelings and emotions
SE:A1:3 Develop self-awareness and self-management skills essential for mental health
SE:A1:4 Take action (individually or with support) to positively impact one’s own mental health
SE:A1:5 Describe the relationship between feelings and behavior
SE:A1:6 Develop healthy ways to identify, express, and respond to one’s emotions
SE:A1:11 Identify strategies to cope with loss and grief
SE:A1:12 Recognize that everyone has rights and responsibilities
SE:A1:13 Identify the signs of stress and use techniques for reducing stress

ASCA Professional Standards and Ethical Standards and Practices

This course is aligned with the ethical and professional expectations outlined by the American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards and School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies, supporting counselors in upholding integrity, confidentiality, and student-centered decision-making while navigating complex situations. Grounded in these standards, the course strengthens the knowledge, attitudes, and skills required to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive school counseling practices, including leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and crisis response.
At the same time, it acknowledges that international school contexts require thoughtful adaptation of these standards, encouraging participants to apply ethical principles and professional competencies flexibly and responsibly within diverse cultural, legal, and systemic environments to best support student safety and well-being.

Essential Questions

1. How can international schools move from suicide awareness to clear, consistent, and effective action while developing, implementing, and sustaining school-wide prevention, intervention, and postvention systems?
2. What does a coordinated, student-centered response to suicide risk look like within a multidisciplinary school team?
3. How can schools maintain best practice in student safety and well-being whilst navigating cultural, legal, and systemic differences?

Participants will have knowledge about:

1. Suicide prevention within the international school context, including the unique cultural, legal, and systemic factors that influence effective practice.
2. Best practice frameworks across awareness and prevention, intervention, and postvention, grounded in the Suicide Awareness & Prevention Toolkit (SAPT).
3. Risk and protective factors
4. Safe messaging
5. Contagion risks
6. The role of schools in both immediate response and long-term prevention.

Participants will be able to:

1. Develop and strengthen school policies, establish clear protocols, and implement sustainable, culturally responsive systems that prioritize student safety, well-being, and community care.
2. Confidently lead and collaborate within multidisciplinary teams, ensuring coordinated and consistent responses to student risk.
3. Practice risk identification
4. Conduct supportive and direct conversations with students
5. Implement clear, step-by-step response protocols across prevention, intervention, and postvention
6. Develop skills in decision-making under pressure
7. Document and communicate the processes involved to staff and families
8. Facilitate re-entry and ongoing support plans
9. Navigate complex situations with cultural sensitivity
10. Balance student safety with family dynamics
11. Lead school-wide responses in a calm, organized, and student-centered manner

Chrystal Kelly

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 student protection, crisis planning and suicide awareness and prevention. Chrystal became devoted to strengthening school systems’ ability to protect students and families through proactive crisis response, compassionate intervention, and comprehensive mental-health support when working as a High School Counselor in Colorado, USA. She helped lead her school to become a Recognized American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Model Program and joined the international realm in 2014 where she continued to help create a comprehensive counseling and student protection program at her school in Muscat, Oman. Chrystal is committed to empowering all stakeholders to lead with confidence in creating programs that support student safety and wellbeing. Chrystal has been an ISCA Task Force member since 2016 and presented at numerous ISCA annual conferences, led two preconferences, taught an ISCA Academy Course, and been a proud member of the committees that worked on the ISCA Learning Progression and Suicide Awareness & Prevention Toolkit.

Lina Paumgarten

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 and privately, working with schools, families, and individuals worldwide. She has created the ICARE framework—Identify warning signs, Connect with empathy, Ask directly about suicide, Reduce/Remove risk, and Escort to help.

For more information go to: linapaumgarten.com

ISCA Member Price: $300

Non-Member Price: $380

Dates and times of offerings:

October 12 & 19, 2026 ; 12:30 to 3:30PM UTC

Contact Hours: 6 hours

Time commitment between sessions: N/A

Required Resource(s): Suicide Awareness & Prevention Toolkit (SAPT)