Florida School Toolkit for K-12 Educators to Prevent Suicide

Mary Smith Planning Scenario A 13-year-old middle-school student, Mary, who is new to school has written on her English paper, “Hannah Baker Rocks and she showed them all. I can do it to!” Mary is referred to the counseling office and presents as unkempt, shy, with very little eye contact and a lack of affect. She initially does not want to talk, but when asked about 13 Reasons Why , she opens up and she is fascinated by the show and how Hannah got even and watched over everyone who mistreated her and escaped a horrid life! Mary shares serious family issues at home. She has not seen her mother since she was age eight and her father never even answers Mary’s questions about her mother. Mary wonders why her mother does not want to be involved in her life. Her father’s live-in girlfriend, Babs, yells at her frequently, and Mary thinks Babs has a drug problem, as her behavior toward Mary and her brother is so erratic. Her father works all the time in his new position in a Tallahassee law firm and has a significant commute to work each day. The father’s girlfriend does not work and is always home when Mary returns from school and is consistently on Mary about her chores. Mary had been close to her 19-year-old cousin, but she killed herself last year. Mary did not want to move to the new school and misses her dog Buddy that her father made her leave behind as they moved to a condo that does not allow dogs. Her father says they may get a house and Buddy could come live with them, but Mary doesn’t think that will happen. She misses her old friends in St. Louis and tries to stay in touch by texting and Facebook, but her father and his girlfriend have told her repeatedly to move on and to get new friends. Mary had enjoyed participating in a church youth group in St. Louis but has no plans to attend one in Tallahassee. Mary reports that all the eighth-grade girls at the new school are already matched up in groups and no one has really welcomed her. Mary played basketball last year on the school B team but does not think she is good enough to make the team in her new school, which is much larger than her previous one. Her sixth-grade younger brother, John, has already made new friends and Babs is not so hard on him. Mary wonders what is wrong with her, as she is so unhappy here. Mary reports that few things are going well and that she sleeps a lot, spends most of her time at home in her room and has little appetite or energy. She is also behind on school assignments even though it is only the second week of school. Mary admits that she has thought of cutting herself the way Hannah did and reports she has watched the show three times. Mary admits to researching suicide online and she has also thought that if she couldn’t cut herself, she could pull the trigger on a gun. Her father has one. She is not sure where it is but has thought of looking for it when no one is home. TOOL 15a Role-Play: Suicide Assessment The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) is recommended for use during this role-play scenario. Florida S.T.E.P.S.