Identifies mental health crises and suicide warning signs while developing personal safety plans and grounding techniques. Equips users with peer gatekeeper skills and direct pathways to professional crisis resources and hotlines.
Specialized resources for supporting children and adolescents, focusing on age-appropriate explanations and creative memory-keeping.
A practical lesson dedicated to identifying and implementing healthy coping mechanisms to manage the intense emotional waves of loss.
An introductory lesson focused on understanding the landscape of grief and assessing the severity of the client's current experience to guide treatment planning.
This lesson covers the ACT core process of Willingness (Acceptance), providing a mini-lesson on the 'Window of Tolerance' to distinguish between helpful stretching (willingness) and overwhelming distress (flooding).
Students synthesize all prior learning to create comprehensive, hierarchy-based safety plans for high-risk clients. These plans integrate sensory grounding, social support, and professional intervention steps.
In this culminating seminar, students critically review current research regarding the efficacy of sensory grounding techniques. They synthesize findings to create an evidence-based rationale for a specific therapeutic approach.
Clinicians explore why clients may resist self-soothing (e.g., feeling undeserving of comfort, fear of letting guard down). Students develop motivational interviewing strategies to address these barriers.
Focusing on the translation of complex science into accessible language, students practice explaining neurobiological concepts to clients. Role-playing scenarios are used to address client skepticism regarding somatic interventions.
Students analyze how certain self-soothing techniques (e.g., deep breathing, weighted blankets) can act as triggers for abuse survivors. The lesson emphasizes assessment of sensory history before prescribing interventions.
Investigate how specific sensory inputs (temperature, proprioception, vestibular) directly influence autonomic regulation. The class categorizes interventions based on their physiological impact.
This lesson distinguishes between healthy self-soothing and dissociative checking out. Students practice 'eyes-open' grounding techniques specifically designed for dissociative identity disorder (DID) or depersonalization.
Deepen understanding of the vagus nerve's role in social engagement and safety. Students evaluate Porges' Polyvagal Theory to distinguish between mobilization, immobilization, and social engagement states.
Students learn to identify subtle signs of hypoarousal and hyperarousal in complex trauma clients. The lesson focuses on mapping a client's specific window of tolerance to determine appropriate intervention timing.
Execute real-time coaching protocols for clients in active crisis, focusing on de-escalation and skill deployment.
Design sensory-based interventions and environment modifications to support client self-soothing through the five senses.
Apply cognitive distraction techniques (ACCEPTS and IMPROVE) to bridge high-distress moments without relying on maladaptive avoidance.
Master the facilitation of TIPP skills (Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Paired muscle relaxation) as immediate physiological interventions.
Differentiate between immediate distress tolerance and long-term emotional regulation, establishing clinical criteria for deployment.
Examine the physiological markers of the stress response, focusing on the autonomic nervous system and the interaction between sensory processing and the limbic system.
The sequence concludes with the logistics of higher levels of care, including voluntary and involuntary hospitalization. Students examine the legal 'duty to warn' and 'duty to protect,' and how to facilitate a warm handoff to emergency services.
Students design and pitch a sustainable community care initiative tailored to their specific academic or professional cohort.
Develops skills for leading group stress check-ins, managing dynamics, and ensuring psychological safety in group settings.
Focuses on preventing compassion fatigue through emotional and temporal boundaries and professional referral protocols.
Practical workshop on active listening, validation, and holding space for peers without the pressure to provide immediate solutions.
Examines the buffering hypothesis and the psychological mechanics of how social connection mitigates stress, contrasting co-rumination with constructive disclosure.
Students design a framework for a community care plan, producing a 'Community Charter' for peer support in a specific campus context.
A facilitated dialogue session focusing on common undergraduate stressors, practicing normalization and collective coping strategies.
Training on recognizing the limits of peer support and when to refer to professionals, with a focus on setting emotional boundaries to prevent burnout.
A skill-building session on non-judgmental listening, reflecting, and validating emotions, focusing on 'holding space' rather than problem-solving.
Students explore the 'Buffer Hypothesis' and how social connection mitigates the health impacts of stress, focusing on the difference between instrumental, emotional, and informational support.
Synthesizing all concepts, students build a semester-long calendar that proactively schedules mental health days, tutoring sessions, and social support check-ins, treating them as non-negotiable appointments.
Students explore how technology can both hinder and help regulation. They set up digital wellbeing controls and identify apps that facilitate requesting support or managing anxiety.
Students develop a categorized list of support options ranging from low-friction (texting a friend, using an app) to high-friction (therapy appointment, professor meeting). This reduces decision fatigue when help is actually needed.
This lesson compares various time-management frameworks (Pomodoro, 52/17 rule, Time Blocking) that mandate breaks. Students experiment with one system during a study hall session to evaluate its efficacy.
The sequence concludes with students designing a 'Community Care Agreement' to establish norms for mutual support and collective rest in their own communities.
This lesson teaches specific bystander intervention strategies to bridge the gap between noticing distress and connecting a peer to resources.
Students learn to identify subtle behavioral and non-verbal signs of distress in their peers and practice gentle intervention strategies.
A workshop focusing on the listening skills required to support peers, emphasizing validation over immediate problem-solving.
Students define psychological safety and analyze its impact on team performance, using Google's 'Project Aristotle' as a primary case study.
Students investigate the biological basis of focus through the concept of Ultradian Rhythms and conduct a three-day audit of their own energy levels to identify peak performance windows.
Synthesize legal and ethical knowledge to design a comprehensive crisis response protocol for professional practice.
Examine the ethical complexities of substance use crisis referrals, focusing on beneficence vs. autonomy and legal risks.
Research state laws regarding Tarasoff warnings and how crisis hotline referrals fulfill or fall short of legal duties.
Investigate the technical realities of anonymity and geolocation in modern crisis services, including 'active rescue' policies.
Analyze the intersection of HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and crisis hotline privacy policies to understand what information can be shared during emergencies.
Addresses the 'day after' a crisis referral. Focuses on repairing therapeutic ruptures, debriefing the hotline experience, and updating long-term safety plans.
A technical workshop on documenting crisis interventions to mitigate liability. Students review redacted charts and practice defensive yet clinically sound note-writing.
Explores the legal and ethical protocols for mobile crisis units and emergency services when a client is at imminent risk but refuses help.
Teaches the technical and interpersonal skills needed for a 3-way warm handoff to a crisis line. Includes verbal scripts and simulation of high-stress transfers.
Focuses on using evidence-based tools like the C-SSRS to distinguish between chronic ideation and imminent risk. Students practice decision-making using high-stakes clinical vignettes.
Teaches effective 'warm hand-offs' to professional resources while establishing critical personal boundaries for the student helper.
Guided practice in active listening and emotional validation techniques to de-escalate crisis situations and build trust with peers in distress.
Focuses on the critical skill of asking directly about suicidal intent, overcoming common fears, and using clear, non-judgmental language.
Students learn to identify verbal, behavioral, and situational warning signs of a mental health crisis, distinguishing between typical stress and acute risk.
Students analyze campus mental health statistics and dismantle common myths surrounding suicide and crisis intervention to understand their role as gatekeepers.
An in-depth look at the Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) protocol, focusing on the decision-making process for school-based teams.
A high-level seminar lesson for Master's students focusing on identifying and managing Benne and Sheats group roles within the context of ethical dilemmas in school counseling. Students engage in immersive role-plays to practice group facilitation and conflict resolution.
Develop the skills to assess community needs and assets, culminating in a professional-grade community assessment project.
Understand the principles of trauma-informed care and how to create safe, empowering environments for clients with history of trauma.
Learn the art and science of grant writing, from identifying funding sources to crafting compelling narratives for social programs.
Master evidence-based crisis intervention strategies to de-escalate high-stakes situations and ensure client safety during emergencies.
Explore complex ethical dilemmas in social work through real-world scenarios, applying the NASW Code of Ethics to determine the best course of action.
Students integrate all observed markers into a comprehensive Warning Sign Profile for a complex case study, predicting crisis timing based on behavioral evidence.
Exploration of 'quiet' escalation signs such as withdrawal, avoidance, and work cessation, which are frequently overlooked but indicate high risk for crisis.
Students analyze changes in volume, cadence, and tone (para-verbals) to identify escalation, distinguishing the quality of delivery from the literal content of speech.
A deep dive into the physical manifestations of early escalation, focusing on micro-movements and motor agitation that often precede vocal outbursts.
Students define and observe 'baseline' behavior to distinguish between a student's normal state and signs of deviation. This lesson emphasizes cultural context and personality in behavioral documentation.
A capstone simulation where students must rapidly assess and report on a high-fidelity crisis scenario within 60 seconds.
Distinguishes between intentional 'testing' behaviors/power struggles and genuine loss of emotional control.
Trains students to use their own physiological and emotional reactions (counter-transference) as data points for recognizing client agitation.
Explores the use of physical space and proxemics as a primary indicator of behavioral escalation and safety risk.
Focuses on identifying subtle baseline shifts and micro-behaviors (tapping, sighing, avoiding eye contact) in real-time interactions.
This critical lesson addresses the restriction of access to lethal methods, particularly firearms and medications. Students practice the specific dialogue required to negotiate the removal or securing of dangerous items with clients and their families.
Synthesizes learning to create safety plans that incorporate community, spiritual, and family supports. Challenges the standard medical model by validating alternative support systems.
A supportive transition guide for students leaving a therapeutic program, focusing on connection, reflection, and future planning.
Focusing on the unique pressures faced by international graduate students, this lesson differentiates between adjustment fatigue and clinical crisis. Includes role-plays on visa anxiety and family pressure.
Examines the systemic reasons why specific populations resist professional mental health services, focusing on institutional trust and fears of involuntary hospitalization. Includes intersectional case studies.
Participants engage in identifying how stereotypes regarding race, gender, and ability affect the perception of danger or vulnerability in crisis scenarios. Includes a bias self-audit checklist and review of diagnostic disparity data.
Covers postvention strategies for community stabilization following a crisis. Students learn safe messaging guidelines and draft a cohort crisis response protocol.
