With several cases of suspected suicides hitting the headlines in recent weeks, Jamaica Teachers’ Association [JTA] President Mark Malabver is urging teachers to make use of the association’s counselling services if they feel depressed or feel the urge to harm themselves.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Thursday, Malabver said that the JTA expects to discuss the issue of suicide among other matters affecting the education landscape during a symposium, which is planned for November.

“The teachers are working in an environment that can be very difficult, being underresourced, and sometimes they are having challenges in their personal lives, like financial challenges, and it does have a deep psychological effect on them,” said Malabver. “At the JTA, we are thinking as to how best we can respond, to provide that type of psycho-social support to our members.”

He said next month’s symposium would present an opportunity dor the JTA to see how best it can help members to cope in the high-stress job and to help them understand that there are mechanisms that they should tap into if they need help.

“At the JTA, we have a number of counsellors that are on our payroll, so if a teacher requires counselling, they can access counselling free of cost,” added Malabver.

In recent weeks, Jamaica has been rocked by several reports of suspected suicides, including the deaths of 13-year-old Hopewell High School student Twain Skyers in Lilliput, St James, on September 11; 16-year-old Holmwood Technical High School student Jhamar Surgeon in Stettin, Trelawny, on September 21; and 26-year-old former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant Tyra Spaulding in St Andrew on September 23.

While no teachers have been reported among the latest suicide cases, educators have died by suspected suicide in recent years.

Malabver noted that counselling is especially critical for teachers whose students may have either committed suicide or expressed thoughts about ending their lives.

“Many of our teachers would have engaged with a student that has expressed suicidal tendencies. Within the schools’ internal mechanisms, schools tend to respond to this, but we are also aware that sometimes, whenever students commit suicide, there is always a teacher or teachers that are close to these students, and it does have a negative psychological impact on them,” said Malabver.

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, there were 633 calls to its 888-NEW-LIFE (639-5433) mental-health and suicide-prevention helpline during September. The helpline number was launched on October 10, 2019, during the celebration of World Mental Health Day.