Suicide Prevention: Kognito Mental Health Training Initiative for School Staff

Information sessions

If you would like to learn more about how to bring these trainings to your school or district, please join us for one of our informational webinars. We will share how to bring these free trainings to your school for staff and students. Informational webinars are held the second Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Register for the date of your choosing: Informational Webinar Registration.

At Risk program description 

At risk is a series of research proven, online role-play trainings developed in collaboration with school mental health experts and educators. The trainings help educators and school staff build understanding, knowledge, and skills in mental health and behavior management, learn to recognize the signs of distress, build and use conversation skills to approach a student, discuss concerns and if necessary, refer parents/students to the appropriate resources.   The modules are for staff at early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. Participants engage in role-playing simulations, interact with virtual students showing signs of mental distress. Participants may also experience role play simulations with virtual caregivers to lead real life conversations around challenging behavior, identifying students who may need more support and collaborating with caregivers. The modules can be completed in one hour. Schools and districts are encouraged to use materials provided to host follow up discussion and professional development sessions after staff complete the training. 

Why participate?

• Kognito At-Risk meets educator suicide prevention training requirement per MN statute 122A.187 as determined by district. 
• Learn to identify, approach, and refer students at-risk of mental distress by using motivational interviewing and communication skills. 
• Helping young children regulate their emotions and building relationships with their caregivers are essential components of well-being and success. 
• By increasing the number of “trusted adults able and ready to connect with students we increase the chances of intervening with youth who may be struggling due to stresses of bullying, challenges at home or emerging signs of psychological distress.  

Who may participate?

Adults and school staff working with children or youth early childhood through 12th grade interacting with students can participate in the Kognito At-Risk training. 

How to participate?

We first encourage interested schools and districts to attend one of our informational webinars to learn how to implement the initiative.  To provide a high-quality training experience we encourage districts and schools to: 

• Identify a main staff member “champion” to roll-out the initiative. 
• Have all school staff complete Kognito simulations. 
• Host follow up discussion and share district/school referral policy and local mental health support services with staff. 

Friend 2 Friend

Program description

Kognito’s Friend2Friend student curriculum supports a skills-based approach to social emotional learning topics for grades 6-12. Applying evidence-based strategies students embark on an interactive online experience where they practice skills by navigating conversations with virtual peers. Two modules are available for students in grades 6-12: Friend2Friend Emotional and Mental Wellness and Friend2Friend Substance Use Prevention. Modules take 30 minutes for students to complete. The curriculum includes discussion guides and lesson plans for facilitators to use after students complete the training.   Friend2Friend Emotional and Mental Wellness  Student participants meet their virtual coaches who are high school classmates that share their experiences about struggling with psychological distress. They teach participants about emotional health and wellness and address misconceptions that students may have about mental health.   Learning objectives include: 

• Identify warning signs of psychological distress, including verbal, behavioral, and situational clues 
• Build conversational skills and attitudes toward seeking help for oneself or a friend 
• Become comfortable asking a friend if they are thinking about suicide 
• Recognize potential emotional and mental wellness resources 

Friend2Friend Substance Use  The online interactive training takes a social emotional learning, skills-based approach to substance misuse prevention. Focusing on goal setting, assertiveness, decision-making and relationship skills, students learn tools to better navigate real-life situations involving substances.  Learning Objectives: 

• Understand how positive self-concept, positive social norms, and healthy coping strategies can be used to help self and others 
• Recognize substance misuse and potential support services to resist peer pressures and stay safe 
• Reflect on and create an action plan based on personal values and goals  
• Apply communication skills to help a friend 

Why participate

• Youth turn to friends as a first line of support. 
• Build student health literacy, social emotional coping skills, and help seeking skills. 
• MN Statute 1208.21 encourages school districts and charter schools to provide mental health instruction for students in grades 4-12 
• Compliments Kognito At-Risk training for staff and builds on a comprehensive mental health plan to support both staff and students. 

Who may participate

Any students in grades 6-12.

How to participate

We first encourage interested schools and districts to attend one of our informational webinars to learn how to implement the initiative. If you are ready to begin implementation of Friend2Friend informational webinars are held the third Thursday of each month from 9 am-10am. Register for the date of your choosing: F2F Informational Webinar Registration. To provide a high-quality training experience we encourage districts and schools to:

• Identify a main staff member “champion” to roll-out the initiative.
• We recommend school staff complete Kognito At-Risk training for staff.
• Have lead staff complete the F2F training and implement training plan for students
• Roll out training with identified students 
• Share district referral policy and local mental health support services with students

Kognito Admin Portal Training: Go Live-Office Hour

Join us for a training for all school/district leaders implementing the Kognito training to learn to navigate the data portal system. The first 30 minutes of this webinar will cover the following:

• A checklist review before you go live including technical considerations
• How to run and understand your participant data usage reports

After the training session the second 30 minutes of the webinar will be open office hours for specific questions and technical support. The training webinar and open office hours will be held the second Thursday of each month from 12 p.m.- 1 p.m. Register for the date of your choosing: Kognito Admin Portal Training-Open Office Hours.

Minnesota Suicide Prevention Kognito Champions Schools and Districts

Congratulations to the Minnesota schools and districts with the Suicide Prevention Kognito Champion School or District designation! Suicide Prevention Kognito Champion Schools and Districts (PDF). Any schools or district that implements Kognito At Risk are able to apply for designation as a Minnesota Suicide Prevention Champion School or District. For any additional information, contact the Suicide Prevention Unit at Health.suicideprev.MDH@state.mn.us.