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For Immediate Release

September 24, 2004

NASW Sponsors the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program

WASHINGTON —The National Associatio of Social Workers (NASW) is proud to sponsor and support the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program , a program created and managed by Screening for Mental Health, Inc.

The SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program has demonstrated a dramatic increase in help-seeking by depressed students, and reduced suicide attempts by 40 percent in high school students exposed to the program. This program is the only school-based suicide prevention program selected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, as a “promising program” for the National Registry of Effective Programs (NREP).

The program is designed to be easily replicable in a variety of school settings, using existing school personnel and implemented during one or two classroom periods. The basic message of the SOS Program is to teach high school students to respond to the signs of suicide as a mental health emergency, much as one would react to a heart attack. It focuses on teaching youth to recognize the signs of suicide and depression in themselves and others, as well as the specific action steps needed to respond to those signs.

Since 2000 the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program has been implemented in more than 1,300 schools across the country. The cost for the program is $200.00. Registration information and downloadable forms are available Online at http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/sos_highschool/index.htm or call [phone].

NASW encourages social workers employed in school settings to consider making this a part of ongoing mental health prevention services.

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For Immediate Release

September 16, 2004

NASW Endorses World Mental Health Day — October 10, 2004

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) endorses World Mental Health Day (WMHDAY) on October 10, 2004.

In the years since the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as “the complete state of physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease,” there has been an increased understanding of the interrelationship between physical health and mental health. The theme of World Mental Health Day 2004, The Relationship Between Physical and Mental Health: Co-occurring Disorders, focuses attention on an emerging recognition of the integral relationship between physical and mental health.

Organizations and individuals from more than 150 countries will participate in this educational event. NASW encourages members to participate in educating colleagues and communities about the interrelationship between physical health and mental health.

This year's WMHDAY global education packet offers information, resources, and research findings to support the idea of fully body health. Materials can be downloaded through the World Federation for Mental Health—the organization responsible for World Mental Health Day—Web site at http://www.wfmh.org . Download the packet by section or in its entirety.

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