Is BPO:XP therapy?
No. BPO:XP is a universal primary prevention and education program and is not meant to replace therapy or other crisis supports. What does that mean?
- Primary prevention programs provide support to people before a specific concern is identified to decrease the chances that a specific concern will develop.
- Universal prevention means it is appropriate for everyone in the general population that the program is designed to serve.
- Therapy is an intervention that targets a specific concern that is impacting someone’s functioning and seeks to improve identified symptoms. It is typically delivered by a licensed clinician.
BPO:XP acts as universal primary prevention by providing education on how to identify and respond to concerns for mental health crisis or thoughts of suicide in a healthy way. BPO:XP provides resources and skills that can be used to obtain help before a crisis happens.
Is BPO:XP a replacement for therapy?
No. BPO:XP is not a replacement for evidence-based mental health therapy and should not be used in lieu of treatment or crisis care.
We already do Signs of Suicide (SOS), Sources of Strength (Sources) or another comprehensive suicide prevention program. Can BPO:XP simply replace that?
No. BPO:XP is designed to enhance, NOT replace, existing suicide prevention programs. Organizations can implement BPO:XP alongside other prevention programs to provide a well-rounded experience for youth and to reinforce similar messaging that can be found in established SEL and suicide prevention programs. We would love to talk more about how BPO:XP can complement your organization’s current programming.
Is it appropriate for youth with developmental disabilities?
In most cases the answer is “yes.” BPO:XP’s content is presented in a way that makes it accessible to anyone in 7th-12th grade. If a youth with a developmental disability engages in academic work at the 7th-12th grade level, they should also benefit from the learning content of BPO:XP. Individual adaptations may need to be made to the IRL Quests and activities. Of note, youth with cognitive, social, or developmental differences are at increased risk for mental health challenges, so the addition of prevention content into their learning should be strongly considered.
Is the cope-ahead plan/takeaway sheet the same as a safety plan or behavior plan?
No. The cope-ahead plan is a compilation of a student’s answers to questions in BPO:XP. This plan includes skills that can help manage emotions, resources in the event of a crisis, and conversations tips about mental health. In contrast, a safety or behavior plan is a specific intervention that is created collaboratively with a trained professional or a trusted adult that identifies specific responses to specific known concerns to enhance immediate safety.
What happens to the responses youth enter into BPO:XP?
We take privacy and confidentially of participants very seriously. BPO:XP is powered by the learning management system Brainier which has strong cyber security measures in place. In addition to the security measures, youth are given clear instructions to create anonymous user accounts, and responses in BPO:XP cannot be connected with individual users. As an added measure, student responses to BPO:XP activities are deleted upon their completion of the program.
Can students log back in after they complete BPOXP?
Yes. Login group codes for each organization are valid for 3 months after implementation begins, so students are able to log back in and rewatch videos or repeat the content if they’re interested. Please note: if students hit the “complete” button at the end of the program and log back in later, they will have to start the program over again.