School counselors train to help suicidal and emotional students

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - About hundred school counselors and others working in the Tuscaloosa City and County School systems participated in an all-day joint training session Thursday, to help kids who have trouble controlling their emotions and in some cases may even be suicidal.

“We’re trying to better equip our schools with the resources they need to help have honest conversations about this. Yes, we do see students mentioning about suicidal thoughts," said to Jackie Hudgins, Tuscaloosa County Schools Director of Accountability.

In a room filled with around a 100 school counselors, social workers and mental health professionals, you’d barely notice the table where no one is sitting. It’s filled with pamphlets, fliers and emergency numbers for people considering suicide. The group received “Zones of Regulation” training, a curriculum that helps students cope with and self-regulate some of the difficult emotions they experience and resolve conflicts.

“Sometimes students get to a state emotionally, that they don’t know how to bring themselves back down. And then their talk becomes ‘the only way I know how to deal with this is to do something to harm myself’,” Hudgins continued.

As social and emotional wellness becomes more of an important issue, school systems want to provide as much support as possible to students who need it most.

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