Resources and Training for Parents
Resources and Training for
Looking for someone in your school district to connect to about your child’s mental health? We suggest the following:
- Social worker
- School counselor
- Student assistance counselor
- Nurse or wellness staff
- Administrator
- School psychologist
The Parent Backpack has a variety of resources related to behavioral health and parenting
PSNRI is a group of parents, family members, transition-age youth, and adults with behavioral health lived experience who want to support and help peers. They work with statewide and national partners to empower children, youth, families, and individuals through support, education, and advocacy to prevent abuse and neglect and move toward health, wellness, and recovery.
RIPIN helps individuals, parents, families, and children achieve their goals for health, education, and socio-economic well-being by providing information, training, education, support, and advocacy for person/family-centered care and policy and system change. You can reach them on their website or by calling 800-464-3399.
The Hotline is available 24 hours a day for the prevention of child abuse. You can call or text 800-422-4453.
Advice from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention about talking with teens about mental health and suicide.
A guide for young adults age 14-25 about getting ready to be in charge of their healthcare. The guide includes information about mental health and crisis services. You can find the Spanish version here
Does your child’s school have a student assistance counselor through Project Success? Learn more on the RISAS Resources for Parents webpage.
Rhode Island Student Assistance Services (RISAS) has free webinars for parents on topics like suicide prevention in the home, positive parenting, and supporting your LGBTQIA+ child.
Here is a list of local law enforcement offices in Rhode Island where you can pick up a free gun lock. (Project ChildSafe)
Learn about the importance of locking up over-the-counter and prescription medications (also available in Spanish). Locking up medicines is part of “suicide proofing” your home.
Other Resources
- Taking a Child to the Emergency Room
- What to Do if You Are Worried about Suicide
- Signs a Child May Be Suicidal
- Your Teenager May Be Depressed
Take care of yourself: 15 self-care strategies for parents
Training is available for Parents
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) offers More Than Sad, a teen mental health training for high school students, parents, and teachers.
Youth Mental Health Webinars: Rhode Island Student Assistance Services (RISAS) has free webinars on a wide variety of youth mental health topics recorded on their website. Topics include everything from supporting your LGBTQIA child, to life after the pandemic, to recognizing substance abuse in young people, to understanding social media and young people.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers this suicide prevention training available for general audiences with specific modules for seniors, LGBTQ people, and workplace settings.
Now Matters Now, a skills-based site grounded in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, offers free training for those with suicidal thoughts, substance or mental health problems or their family members and friends. It also offers courses for healthcare, crisis, peer support service and school counseling providers.
RIPRC.org is an online prevention resource and is the official website of the Rhode Island Prevention Resource Center. The RIPRC lists many mental health and substance abuse prevention training opportunities on their calendar.
A course that teaches you how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. It focuses on reaching out to provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.
A one-hour training focused on “gatekeepers”—people in a position to recognize a crisis and do something about it. A gatekeeper can be a friend, coworker, teacher, boss, or parent.