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Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth in Colorado, making suicide prevention an urgent priority. Unfortunately, many therapists working with adolescents in crisis report feeling overwhelmed and isolated, with limited access to training, support and practical tools for handling more complex cases. A new project led by Assistant Professor Tamar Kodish and Sherry Burkhard, executive director of Rise against Suicide (Rise), aims to change that by providing resources for clinicians. In partnership with��Rise a local nonprofit that supports youth up to age 19 who are at risk of suicide, Kodish is developing an online toolkit to directly support therapists.��

According to Burkhard, the collaboration with Kodish “works to better support efforts from both the therapists’ perspective as well as from the infrastructure of a nonprofit perspective.”��

Rise Against Suicide works with youth in Boulder and surrounding counties, providing treatment to children who otherwise would not have access to such mental health care. By eliminating financial and social barriers, Rise helps children and families feel more comfortable reaching out for help.����

“Rise Against Suicide has this incredible group of therapists who provide different kinds of treatment to kids in school settings for free, and they wanted to improve support for their therapists,” said Kodish. As every child requires a different approach, the knowledge and skills demanded of counselors continue to grow. The toolkit will initially be released to therapists working for Rise, and who encounter a wide range of cases with varying needs.��

The toolkit project, funded by 91��ý’s Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES), focuses on providing evidence-based practices, including practical solutions for crisis and therapist burnout, as well as introducing a digital platform to help therapists use evidence-based interventions and better navigate systems of care, like schools. These resources are intended to enhance both therapists’ well-being and professional development.����

Kodish and Rise Against Suicide prioritized a feasible and accessible toolkit, intending to “create something for the therapists in Rise, but also something to scale out more broadly. We have therapists across the world doing amazing work, but without enough resources and support,” Kodish said.����

Rooted in an engaged scholarship approach, Kodish works directly with therapists involved in youth suicide prevention. “One of our goals was to give therapists a space to talk about their own experiences,” said Kodish. “We can learn so much from them. They have valuable knowledge and insight that isn’t fully captured in the research literature.”����

��By directly working with therapists and basing the toolkit around their clinical experiences, the toolkit is tailored to challenges real therapists face. Better equipped clinicians can respond more effectively to a variety of complex cases, creating more reliable care. Expanding resources for people in this line of work addresses an additional issue in the field: a shrinking number of people who want to step into these roles. The shortage of therapists across the United States continues to limit access to care for many people without sufficient financial or community-based resources.����

��“We believe the availability of this toolkit will help more therapists feel equipped to step into this work,” said Burkhard. By increasing communication and support, initiatives like this toolkit encourage more people to feel equipped and willing to enter this profession – expanding care to those who need it the most.����