Loudoun County Public Schools Offering New Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources for Parents and Students

SALT LAKE CITY – He Cook Center for Human Connectiona nonprofit organization dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention, has partnered with Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) to provide Parent Guide.org to LCPS schools and families. LCPS community members now have free access to a variety of online mental health resources that empower families to help children thrive, including:

• One by one parent training individualized for families;
• Online on-demand lessons taught by licensed therapists; and
• Live, interactive family mental health series webinars hosted by trained professionals, available fall 2024;

“Talking about mental health and other concerns is the key to understanding,” says Jennifer Evans, M. Ed., LPC, director of LCPS Student Mental Health Services. “Through ParentGuidance.org webinars and parent training, we aim to help parents address important mental health and developmental topics to support their children. “Parents will gain tools and strategies that will enable them to talk to their children, engage in, and normalize important conversations about mental health.”

The Cook Center model focuses on protective factors for youth mental health and suicide prevention in which schools and parents play a critical role. Although only two years old, ParentGuidance.org has already been adopted by 229 districts and 3,617 schools, offering more than 2.4 million families access to services in 37 states.

“ParentGuidance.org is a powerful tool to help families be the first line of support for their children,” said Anne Brown, president and CEO of the Cook Center for Human Connection. “By providing education, resources and direct support to families, we are helping the people who love and care for their children most: parents. “We are extremely proud to partner with a distinguished school district like Loudoun County Public Schools, who are demonstrating that they truly care about the role of parents in the well-being of their children.”

In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other national medical partners declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health, noting that health professionals are “caring for young people with increasing rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have lasting impacts on them and your families”. and their communities.” Mental health factors have become especially formidable barriers to learning after the pandemic, intensifying the national imperative for innovation in student mental health and well-being. Investigation has established that school-based mental health and suicide programs that involve parents can increase the effectiveness of all interventions.

Loudoun County Public School families can enroll directly through Parent Guide.org or get more information from the division Student Mental Health Services page. To learn more about the Cook Center's work and resources, visit CookCenterforHumanConnection.org.

About the Cook Center for Human Connection

The Cook Center's mission is to bring together the best organizations, programs and products to prevent suicide, support mental health, and improve the human connections vital for people to thrive. The foundation's current focus is supporting children, families and schools with youth mental health resources and the goal of ending suicide. This work is accomplished through various grants to schools, parenting programs, and global resources to raise awareness of the support needed for those affected by mental health and suicide needs. Their free resources created to support children's mental health and suicide prevention include My life is worth living, the first animated series about teen mental health and suicide prevention, and Parent Guide.org, a mental health resource that gives parents the tools to have important conversations at home. Content includes free on-demand courses taught by licensed therapists and family mental health nights hosted by trained professionals. Get more information at CookCenterforHumanConnection.org.

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