Suicide Risk?

Today I get called to a third grade classroom because a kid said something disturbing that attracted his teacher's attention. The kid was playing a game with other students and blurted out "Raise your hand if you wish you could die," and he raised his own hand. So I get buzzed to visit the classroom.

The child talked to me and I tried to figure out his state of mind. I asked him how he was feeling, and he kept telling me that he was okay. Although, I could clearly see that something was bothering him, especially when I took into consideration the anguished look on his face. He looked like he was on the verge of tears. He told me that he was feeling sad, but he wasn't sure why. I asked him if he said that he wished he could die and he said yes. "How often? " "Sometimes."

Now at this point, I'm taking this very seriously. I'm looking at an 8 or 9 year old child with possible suicide ideation. What do I do now?

In the back of my mind, I was screaming at myself, "Find out if he has a plan! Find out if he has a plan!!!!" I asked him why he sometimes feels like dying and he said, "I have a boring life." I dug a little deeper and asked him what could change that would make his life not boring. He replied, "I could play baseball." After explaining to him that baseball would be possible in the spring and trying to gain more information, I couldn't get a good read on his intentions. He kept telling me that nothing else was making him feel sad. And I was starting to get pressed for time (I hate it when that happens, but I had to be at a meeting later.) So I knew there had to be more but I didn't feel that I had enough time to get what I needed from him. Our conversation left me with a feeling of uneasiness, so I told my supervisor and sat in on their conversation.

She was able to ask him about a plan, which he had none. Overall, her approach was great. She was able to get more information out of him and learn enough to assess the situation. The child seems depressed, so I may check in with him to see how he's feeling over the next couple of weeks.

I know that these things come with time, but I really felt like I didn't know what to do. Correction - I knew what to do, I just didn't know how to do it. Watching my supervisor talk with the child was a great learning experience for me. I hope that I can gain those counseling skills before I'm out there on my own.

BBC