Logroño, (EFE).- The Ministry of Education of the Government of La Rioja begins this month the practical training of counselors and those responsible for emotional well-being and violence prevention in 131 educational centers so that they know how to deal with suicidal behavior in students .
The Minister of Education of La Rioja, Pedro Uruñuela, accompanied by the General Director of Educational Innovation, Alberto Abad, reported this Thursday at a press conference on the implementation of the protocol for the prevention, detection and intervention of suicidal behavior in educational centers.
Uruñuela has detailed that, in just one week, during the past month of February there were up to seven suicide attempts among students from La Rioja, although he has qualified that there are usually one or two weekly.
He stressed that this situation, which also occurs in other autonomous communities, is one of the “unforeseen consequences of the pandemic”, since the students were locked up for a long time, their loneliness increased and their emotional development slowed down.
action protocol
La Rioja was the only autonomous community that did not have an action protocol for these cases, a document that came into force this Thursday and that provides for actions in coordination with the Ministries of Health and Social Services.
Education has called a meeting in Logroño on the 17th for the management and guidance teams of the 65 schools and institutes in the downtown area, on the 21st in Calahorra for 36 centers in Rioja Baja and on the 22nd in Nájera for the 30 in Rioja Alta.
Until the end of the course, the counselors will carry out practical training of 3 hours a week every Wednesday, with the aim of identifying possible suicidal behaviors and knowing how to deal with them, they have explained.
Thus, educational professionals will know “what information to collect” in the face of certain behaviors, in order to later intervene and refer the student to the mental health unit, if necessary.
Apart from these actions, other training courses for teachers have been developed during the school year, in order to provide guidelines for addressing suicidal behavior in students, of which four editions have already been held and a fifth session has been scheduled. , has specified Abad.
Profile and causes
These cases occur more in girls, between the ages of 14 and 24, the general director has added.
Adolescents, due to greater use of social networks after the pandemic and the change in personal relationships, have felt “less accompanied”, the counselor has justified.
In addition to appointing Ana Díaz de Cerio as mental health coordinator, she added that four clinical psychologists have been hired to reinforce student care.
Among the “risk” factors, he has cited that the student spends time alone, does not participate in group activities, is very self-demanding or has addictive behaviors, in addition to the fact that he may suffer bullying or cyberbullying through social networks.
His family situation also influences, since he has said that there are more cases of suicide attempts with a history in his family, cases of violence or mistreatment or parents with drug or alcohol addictions. EFE