Fairfax County’s online youth suicide prevention training includes FREE online simulations that prepare educators and other adults in our community to:
- Recognize when a young person is exhibiting signs of psychological distress, and
- Talk with the young person to be able to connect them with appropriate support.
The online trainings allow participants to enter a virtual environment and assume the role of an adult interacting with a young person. Unlike many online trainings, these are interactive and dynamic with actions you choose to move the scenario along, and participants receive real-time feedback on how well they are doing. Participants learn how to differentiate between "normal" and "at-risk" behavior and how to begin a conversation about the topic of mental distress. The courses are offered to anyone in the community, free of charge. Each training can be done in more than one sitting.
Step In, Speak Up! is a 30-minute online training to help concerned adults support youth who may be struggling due to harassment or exclusion related to sexual identity, sexual orientation or other differences.
To take a class, you'll need to create an account (first and last name, email address, user name, password). In the "Please enter your organization and select" field, begin typing and the choices will populate – use the up/down arrows on your keyboard to move through the choices if your organization is not listed, please select ‘other.’ Fairfax County Government employees will be asked to provide their Employee Identification Number (EIN) and FCPS employees will be asked to provide their 6-digit FCPS ID. You'll be asked to choose your role (i.e. community/family member, teacher, counselor, etc.) and agree to the site's Terms of Use, then you can create your account.