The double suicide of Rosemede, 15, and Charette, 16, in Concordia Park puts the target to the test The deficit that the institutes suffer from In providing mental health care to their students.
“at the moment, In the capital of Jaén, there are 5 educational centers that have activated the anti-suicide protocol This number rises to ten throughout the governorate, at least among schools and institutes,” as revealed by the union education representative in the General Union of Workers.
EL ESPAÑOL has consulted the Ministry of Education about the total number of schools and institutes that have an open self-harm protocol, but admits that it cannot confirm or deny the UGT number: “We have to look one by one.” Therefore, the union demands that measures be taken to address the mental health of students and teachers with psychologists.
“He does It is necessary to include the personality of the psychologist within the counseling teams To accompany both students and teachers,” according to a delegate of the General Union of Workers who visits centers throughout Jaén province daily and sees with concern the increase in psychological needs presented by students and teachers.
“There are institutes that have one counselor for 1,200 students Or with two counselors for 1,000 students. At the end of one day, they can only see seven students.” All this, because the ratio of counselors to students is “overcrowded” and they also compensate for the lack of a psychologist within the school. Staff From the guidance teams.
“We have counselors who work as psychologists with some students“The matter is not trivial because before the double suicide of Rosemed and Charette, students at the San Juan Bosco Institute in Jaén, another student at IES Jabalcuz committed suicide, on November 10, when a 15-year-old minor shot himself with his father’s hunting rifle. “Three deaths in less than a month is not normal.”
of the General Confederation of Workers insist that the Andalusian government should “employ psychologists to strengthen guidance teams” in schools and institutes. As he claims Determine the ratio of advisors to be one advisor for every 200 or 300 studentsAt most. “When not with a student, the mentor can give educational lessons talking about suicide or equality between men and women.”
Main cause of death
The coronavirus pandemic has made clear that mental health care must be strengthened in our health system, from primary care to hospitals, and statistics on teenage suicides indicate the need to implement measures to combat it in health centers and educational centres.
In reality, It is one of the leading causes of death among young people between the ages of 12 and 29 years.. The Psychiatric Epidemiology and Mental Health Research Group of the Complutense University of Madrid, in collaboration with CIBER for Mental Health, has prepared a report on the development of suicide in Spain among children and adolescents which includes ““Significant increase” of 32.35% in the number of suicides among teenagers, from 2019 to 2021.
This union delegate, who has extensive experience in the classroom, confirms that the lack of means to manage students’ mental health also affects teachers. “There are more and more sick days due to work anxiety Among teachers because they do not know how to manage adolescent behavior.
“In basic vocational training we see that Teachers are referred to social workers Because parents do not know what to do with their children and prefer to have them in the classroom.
Hence, the General Union of Workers demands the appointment of psychologists to do this “Enhancing” the work of consultantsBecause every time an anti-suicide protocol is activated in a school or institute, a series of actions are taken that require personnel. Such as requiring the student concerned to be monitored throughout the school day, even when there is a change in class or he asks to go to the toilet or go out for a break.
In addition, you must appoint a colleague to play a “shadow” role, to report any strange behavior to the teaching team, and you must meet with the mentor daily, so that This professional has less time to devote to other students Or to detect any abnormal behavior. Prevention is key to avoiding tragedies.