A recent study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a startling rise in attempted suicides and self-injury among children and teens鈥攑articularly among girls aged 10-14. Between 2009 and 2015, researchers found that visits caused by either attempted suicide or self-injury nearly tripled for this age group.
Terri Erbacher, PhD, clinical associate professor, psychology, says that just as parents
and clinicians take part in monitoring children after an initial attempt, schools
need to take an active role as well. Dr. Erbacher has worked with several school districts
to identify and monitor students at risk for suicidal behavior, and in 2015 created
the Suicide Risk Monitoring Tool (SMT), because she saw a gap between when a student
is identified as having suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and how they鈥檙e monitored.
鈥淔or many children, suicidal thoughts don鈥檛 just go away,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a chronic issue, especially if they've had more than two attempts in their lifetime. It鈥檚 important to establish a baseline鈥攚e need to understand the level each student starts at, and how those levels fluctuate. If their baseline is a four, for example, we need to keep an eye on when it鈥檚 creeping up to a seven. And then we determine the best way to take action.鈥�
Dr. Erbacher likens use of the SMT to any other chronic condition. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e first diagnosed with diabetes, you have to continue to monitor your A1C levels, and take action when they get too high. This is similar, but for suicidal risk.鈥�
Dr. Erbacher and her colleague Jonathan Singer at Loyola University in Chicago, recently published a case study in demonstrating how the SMT can be used with students in a school setting.
The tool was used to find the baseline for a student returning to class after being hospitalized, and to track a rise in her risk level over the following weeks. The tool allowed school counselors to identify a rapid rise in her level of risk on a particular day鈥攁 matter of hours鈥攁nd intervene quickly to prevent the student from self-injury and from following through with the student鈥檚 suicide plan.
While tools currently exist to both screen for and assess suicide risk, Dr. Erbacher says there is no other tool that allows both schools and clinicians to monitor that risk over time, so that subtle changes can be identified early. She added that several schools have adopted the SMT and overall, the response has been positive.
鈥淭here is an initial time investment when the SMT is first implemented, but when you don鈥檛 have to send a child to the hospital and then reintroduce them to the academic setting鈥攊t鈥檚 far less time invested in the long run,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎lso, there鈥檚 no amount of time too great to save a child鈥檚 life鈥攄istricts will do whatever they can to save a student.鈥�
Established in 1899, 色中色 (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a 鈥渨hole person鈥� approach to care鈥攖reating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
For general media inquiries, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 215-871-6300 or communications@pcom.edu. Visit our media relations page to view contact information for public relations personnel.
© 2025 色中色
