The Ohio State University

SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAM

MENUMENU
  • About
        • OSUSPP office location
        • OSUSPP is a stand-alone office supported by Student Life, the College of Education and Human Ecology, the Graduate School, and Military and Veterans Services. We are located on the 4th floor of the Physical Activity and Educational Services (PAES) building.

        • About
          • Our Staff
          • Director’s Message
          • Partners
          • Funding & Donations
          • Contact
        • Student Involvement
          • Buckeye Campaign Against Suicide (BCAS)
          • Peers REACHing Out (PROs)
          • REACH© Across Borders
          • Undergraduate Internship Program
  • Education
        • Education

          Suicide is complicated and tragic, but it is often preventable. We can decrease suicide and suicide attempts by increasing student, staff, and faculty knowledge and adaptive attitudes about help-seeking and reducing the stigma of mental illness, as well as acknowledging the importance of seeking help or treatment. Knowing the warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors can help save lives.

        • ReachOut©
          • Group Session
          • Open Session
          • ReachOut© Re-Cap
        • Educational Resources
          • REACH Re-cap
          • Welcome, New Buckeyes!
          • Prevention And Intervention
          • Understand Mental Illness
          • For Parents & Families
        • At Risk Groups
          • International Students
          • First Generation Students
          • LGBTQIA+ Students
          • Minority Students
          • Students With Disabilities
          • Survivors: Those Left Behind
          • Veterans
  • Training
        • Training

          A main service provided by The Suicide Prevention Program Are REACH© Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Trainings. These trainings help faculty, staff, and students Recognize warning signs, Engage with empathy, Ask directly about suicide, Communicate hope, and Help Suicidal individuals to access care and treatment.

        • Training Programs
          • About REACH
          • Open REACH Registration
          • Group REACH Training Request
          • Become an OSUSPP REACH© Trainer!
  • Outreach & Events
        • Outreach & Events

          Outreach opportunities and program events are important to promoting a campus culture of care, increasing suicide prevention knowledge and advocacy, building connections, and fostering hope. As such, OSUSPP offers a variety of ways to engage students, staff, and faculty in our suicide prevention efforts.

        • Outreach Programs
          • Get Involved
          • RUOK? Buckeyes
          • RUOK? Veterans
          • Request a Presentation
        • Buckeyes Speak Up Stories

          • Fall 2021 Intern, Parishi Gandhi’s Legacy Project
          • My Summer at The Ohio State University Suicide Prevention Program
          • Interview with Sarah Clapp
          • Interview with Nadia Musleh
          • Interview with Laura Lewis
        • Recurring Events
          • Out of the Darkness Campus Walk
          • RUOK? Day
          • Survivors’ Day
        • WorksWell
  • Get Involved
  • Get Help Now
        • GET HELP NOW

          • Call 911 if you are in immediate physical danger
          • Local 24/7 Suicide Prevention Lifeline
            614.221.5445
          • National 24/7 Suicide Prevention Lifeline
            800.273.8255
          • Veterans Crisis Line
            800.273.8255, press 1 or text 838255
          • Crisis Text Line
            Text “HOPE” to 741741
          • OSU Counseling and Consultation Service
            614.292.5766
          • More Ways to Get Help
        • Wellness Suite
          • Academic Support
          • Mental Health Support
          • Student Wellness Support
        • Where to Get Help
          • Campus
          • Local
          • National
        • Other Resources

          • Wilce Student Health Center
          • Student Advocacy Center
          • Student Wellness Center (SWC)
          • Veteran and Military Students
          • Office of Disability Services (ODS)
          • BART (Bias Assessment and Response Team)
          • Ohio State University Police Division
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
Home / WorksWell

WorksWell

OSUSPP has been helping our campus to create a culture of care since 2006. Since then, nearly 22,000 students, staff, and faculty have been trained in REACH as suicide prevention gatekeepers who have learned how to reach out to their fellow Buckeyes who may be at risk for suicide. In 2019 the OSU Employee Assistance Program met with OSUSPP to learn more about the outreach and education initiatives offered to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, and discussed collaborating to implement suicide prevention for faculty and staff as well. Given the number of helpful and supportive mental health services and resources already available through the EAP program, this partnership was envisioned to advance assessing and addressing mental health and suicide concerns for employees on the academic and medical campuses. In 2021, this partnership formally developed into OSU WorksWell, a program that offers a voluntary and confidential mental health screening to employee groups and that emphasizes the importance of employee wellness and access to helpful resources and supportive services.

Quick Links

Workplace Mental Health

Workplace Mental Health is an Important Topic

  • At least 1,757,900 Ohio adults have lived with mental illness
  • Adults aged 45-64 had the highest rate of suicide in Ohio
  • The average age of an OSU employee is 42
Past year suicidal thoughts and behaviors among U.S. Adults (2019)
Source: National Institute of Mental Health, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml.

New Data Shows That The Number of People Struggling Continues to Increase

Source: CDC https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm

20% of adults in the U.S. have lived with a mental illness

  • 80%
  • 20%: 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a mental health condition

Only 1 in 3 receive treatment in a given year

  • 67%: Face it Alone
  • 33%: Receive Help

Stress Can Contribute to Suicidal Thoughts

  • You don’t have to have a pre-existing condition or a mental health diagnosis to struggle with suicidal thoughts.
  • Suicidal thoughts can come from “hitting the wall.”
  • Nearly everyone has had a thought like this at some point, but not everyone acts on it

About the OSU WorksWell Partnership

Derek Lee, LPCC-S, Graduate Assistant with OSU WorksWell

OSUSPP (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/)

OSU Employee Assistance Program

OSU EAP (https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/eap/)

Ohio’s Voice For Suicide Prevention

OSPF (https://www.ohiospf.org/)

How Can I Partner with OSU WorksWell?

We hope that you will consider partnering with OSU WorksWell to create a culture of caring about your employees’ mental health and well-being! Any employee group can choose to engage in the OSU WorksWell Roadmap to Success process with their department, office, or program.

How the OSU WorksWell Roadmap to Success works:

  1. A department leader initiates contact with either EAP or OSUSPP to convey interest and learn more.
  2. OSU WorksWell arranges a first meeting with a small group of department/program/college stakeholders to educate them on the process and to set up the implementation phase. At this time a date range to roll out the Interactive Screen Program Stress & Depression Questionnaire will also be established.
  3. Employees receive an email from an employee group leader inviting them to voluntarily complete the screening anonymously and confidentially.
  4. The OSU WorksWell counselor assigned to that department roll out receives a notification each time a questionnaire has been completed. The counselor reads the scored responses which helps them to understand the severity of that employee’s presenting mental and emotional health concerns.
  5. The counselor initiates contact with the employee and invites the them to communicate further via the website’s confidential and anonymous dialogue system. The counselor can then answer questions, provide helpful next steps, and suggest resources.
  6. At the end of the roll out, the OSU WorksWell counselor aggregates the de-identified data regarding usage, severity, and themes that were present in responses and prepares a department report (no employee names or any identifiable information is presented).
  7. OSU WorksWell counselor arranges a final debriefing meeting with department stakeholders to provide the data, facilitate departmental conversation about next steps, and to make recommendations for additional support and strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m interested in having this for my department! How do we get involved?

A leader with your employee group should first send an email to osuworkswell@osu.edu to get the process started. An OSU WorksWell counselor will then be assigned to your “roll out” and will walk you and your group through the process from start to finish

What does the OSU WorksWell Roadmap to Success Process look like? 

See “How Can I Partner with OSU WorksWell?” above.

I’m interested in taking the stress and depression questionnaire just for myself– can I just take it on my own?

No, this questionnaire is only shared out on a departmental level and must be in partnership with the OSU WorksWell program.

If I take the survey, will anyone in my employee group or my supervisor know?

No! Participation is voluntary and anonymous at every level. Your answers and dialogue with the counselor are 100% confidential. The OSU WorksWell counselor will only know your name if you choose to identify that information.

Helpful Resources for Employees

  • EAP (https://hr.osu.edu/benefits/eap/)
  • HR Employee Resource Center
  • OSUSPP (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/)
  • OSPF (https://www.ohiospf.org/)
  • AFSP (https://afsp.org/)
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/)
    • Call: 1-800-273-8255
    • Text: Talk to 741741
  • Local & National Resources: (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/resources/)
  • REACH Trainings (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/reach/#groupcontactform)
  • REACH Out Trainings (https://suicideprevention.osu.edu/reach-out/)
  • OSU Couple and Family Therapy Clinic
  • OSU Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Lab
  • Office of Institutional Equity
  • Kirwin Institute
  • Office of Diversity and Inclusion
  • Military and Veteran Services
  • Department of Public Safety

    Request Form

    Quick Links

    • Workplace Mental Health
    • About the OSU WorksWell Partnership
    • How Can I Partner with OSU WorksWell?
    • FAQ’s
    • Helpful Resources for Employees
    • Contact Form
    The Ohio State University

    College of Education and Human Ecology
    Office of Student Life

    The Ohio State University Suicide Prevention Program
    305 Annie & John Glenn Avenue
    PAES Building, A424
    Columbus, Ohio 43201
    suicideprevention@osu.edu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • About
    • Education
    • Outreach
    • Events
    • Resources
    • Student Involvement
    • Internships
    • Get Help Now

    © 2022 Suicide Prevention | The Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology | Accessibility | Privacy Policy