A counselor should listen, ask about your immediate safety, and bring in adults or services needed to protect you. Exact procedures differ by school, age, location, and situation.
If there is immediate physical danger, an active attempt, or a medical emergency, contact emergency services immediately.
What you can do now
Take these steps in order.
1
Tell the counselor if you are thinking about suicide or do not feel safe going home alone.
2
Answer safety questions honestly.
3
Ask what will happen next and who will be told.
Words you can use
Copy, send, or say this:
“I need to tell you something serious. I have been thinking about suicide, and I need help staying safe. Please explain what happens next.”
They may ask direct questions
The counselor may ask whether you are thinking about suicide, whether you have taken steps toward acting, what access to danger exists, and who can help keep you safe. Honest answers help them choose the next action.
Privacy has limits when safety is at risk
School staff generally cannot promise secrecy when a student may be in danger. They may need to involve a caregiver, administrator, crisis counselor, clinician, or emergency service. Ask them to explain what they are sharing and why.
You should not manage this alone
When immediate danger may be present, an adult should remain involved until a safe handoff occurs. A handoff may include a caregiver, crisis service, qualified clinician, or emergency evaluation.
Ask practical questions
Who will stay with me?
Who is being contacted?
What happens with missed classwork?
Who can I check in with when I return?
If you do not feel heard
Say directly, “I am still worried I may not be safe.” Ask for another counselor, nurse, administrator, caregiver, or 988 counselor.
Qualified review pending — not clinically endorsed. A qualified school mental-health professional and a suicide-prevention specialist must review this page. A qualified privacy or youth-safeguarding reviewer must review confidentiality, caregiver-disclosure, and minimum-necessary-sharing language. A qualified school-policy reviewer must reconcile this page with district procedure, student-record privacy, mandatory-reporting duties, and applicable law before adoption.
Last editorial update
July 30, 2026
Review schedule
Initial qualified review required before broad promotion
Editorial status
Cited editorial guidance. It is not clinically endorsed. A qualified school mental-health professional and a suicide-prevention specialist must review this page. A qualified privacy or youth-safeguarding reviewer must review confidentiality, caregiver-disclosure, and minimum-necessary-sharing language. A qualified school-policy reviewer must reconcile this page with district procedure, student-record privacy, mandatory-reporting duties, and applicable law before adoption.
