UTC’s Amy Kyriakidis has created an online suicide-prevention training module to help faculty and staff across the UT System recognize warning signs, begin supportive conversations and connect people with help. Photo by Angela Foster.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. For Amy Kyriakidis, in her line of work, every day is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
Kyriakidis is the assistant director for suicide education and prevention in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Center for Wellbeing. With support from a UT System wellness mini-grant, she created a new online training module to help faculty and staff across the UT System recognize possible signs of suicide risk, start a caring conversation, and connect students or colleagues with help.
The self-paced K@TE course, “Suicide Prevention: Spot the Signs and Start the Conversation,” is part of the UT System’s “Know How, Know Now” wellness training series. Developed to support student wellness and success, the course uses the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to give employees practical, evidence-based guidance on how to respond when they are concerned about someone.
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The UT System’s “Know How, Know Now” Challenge runs through Oct. 10. Employees who complete all three trainings in the series earn a digital certificate and are entered into one of 10 systemwide drawings for a $50 gift card and a UT Wellness blanket. Every completed training also helps a campus or institute compete for a grand prize lunch with system and campus leadership.
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The work began as a plan to expand suicide prevention education at UTC. Kyriakidis saw an opportunity to take it further.
“I applied for it, got the grant, and then started working on it first as a way to expand the training for UTC,” she said. “How can I do this training at UTC, and then how can we take this training for suicide prevention education through K@TE—which we use on all our campuses—and adapt it for all the schools?”
That question led to a collaboration with a K@TE instructional designer and colleagues across the UT System. Kyriakidis gathered input about campus-specific resources and protocols, then helped shape a module that offers a common foundation while recognizing that each campus directs people to support differently.
As a K@TE course, faculty and staff can complete the training when their schedules permit. That accessibility is central to its purpose.
Kyriakidis has led many in-person trainings during her career and has been honored for her suicide prevention efforts. The online module, she said, makes it possible to reach far more people across the state.
“This is definitely the largest reach that I’ve ever been able to get as one person, being able to train that many people at one time,” she said.
The C-SSRS is a screening tool used around the world to identify suicidal ideation and behavior. It gives users a consistent framework for asking direct questions, assessing risk, documenting responses and determining appropriate next steps. The tool does not diagnose a mental health condition, and the training does not ask faculty or staff to become counselors or decide on treatment. Instead, it helps them recognize concerns, ask directly about suicide, follow their campus protocols and connect a person with appropriate support.
“Each campus is very different in their approach,” Kyriakidis said. “But I think being able to hone in and use the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale has been huge. It’s evidence-based in screening wording. It’s an amazing tool to use.”
Kyriakidis said the K@TE module is designed for employees who may be among the first to notice a change in a student or colleague. They may see someone withdrawing from others, struggling with a major life stressor or speaking in ways that signal distress. The training addresses verbal, behavioral and situational warning signs; common myths and facts about suicide prevention; and the steps for referral, documentation and follow-up.
She explained that college students can face overlapping pressures from academic demands, financial concerns, social isolation and mental health challenges. Many people in emotional distress do not immediately seek help, she said, whether because of stigma or a belief that they should manage it alone. That makes supportive campus communities and early intervention especially important.
“We walk past people every day in the community. We hear people. We have touch points where we see people, whether it’s in Starbucks standing in line, whether it’s in the library,” she said. “What’s good about this training is you notice the signs. Are there some behavioral clues that we’re seeing? Are people saying things? Are they giving us some verbal signs situationally?”
The goal is not for an employee to have all the answers. It is to notice, listen and begin a conversation when concern is present.
“A training like this really helps build that culture of care to say, ‘Yes, I know something’s going on. Now I have the words to ask to make sure that person’s safe,’” Kyriakidis said.
Amy Kyriakidis leads suicide-prevention education through UTC’s Center for Wellbeing.
The approximately 40-minute course includes a pre-test and post-test, practical instruction on using the C-SSRS and an animated explainer video. It also focuses on university settings, with information tailored to students and the resources and protocols available across the UT System.
Kyriakidis said the training gives participants an important skill: a way to move from concern to action without guessing what to say or do next.
“Suicide can be a heavy topic,” she said, “but this training also gives you an empowerment piece. It gives practical tools that you can use to have these conversations.”
Dr. Jessi Gold, chief wellness officer for the UT System, said the systemwide format extends the value of Kyriakidis’ expertise, particularly because wellness staffing and capacity vary by campus.
“Suicide prevention is incredibly important, not only during suicide awareness month, but year-round. As we look systemwide, not every campus has capacity to have an Amy, and many of our campuses experience high turnover in wellness-related roles,” Gold said. “Using her expertise to make an asynchronous course that faculty and staff on any campus can use … was a clear-cut collaboration for us at the system level.”
Dr. Amelia Ailey, director of systemwide student wellness in the UT System’s Division of Academic Affairs, Research and Student Success, said the training gives every campus access to the same foundation for support.
“Suicide prevention training like the K@TE C-SSRS course is one of the most practical, high-impact investments we can make in campus wellness,” Ailey said. “The knowledge and skills gained through Amy’s training and through initiatives like the ‘Know How, Know Now’ series are crucial and applicable not only for faculty and staff to better support students, but to better support colleagues, friends, loved ones and community members.”
The “Know How, Know Now” Challenge runs through Oct. 10.
For Kyriakidis, the new course is part of a larger effort to build mental health and suicide prevention literacy across campuses. It is also an invitation to people who may not see suicide prevention as part of their job description.
“We don’t expect everyone to become a mental health professional,” she said, “but we do want people to be able to recognize when a student or colleague might be struggling, feel comfortable having that conversation, ask directly about suicide when they’re concerned and know where to connect that person to help.
“Suicide prevention is possible, and early intervention can save lives.”
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The “Know How, Know Now” series also includes an opioid overdose response course created by Kyriakidis’ Center for Wellbeing colleague, Kat James, assistant director for substance use education and recovery.
“Responding to Opioid Overdose: Awareness, Action and Compassion” prepares employees to recognize signs of a possible opioid overdose, administer naloxone and respond confidently during an emergency. The course reinforces the importance of recognizing the signs of an overdose and acting quickly to seek emergency help and administer naloxone when appropriate.
UTC was also represented in the recently announced 2026-27 UT wellness mini-grant cycle with a project led by Guerry Associate Professor of Communication Nagwan Zahry and Assistant Professor of Psychology Feng Guo.
“From Wellness to Well-Tech: Identifying Gaps in Campus Wellness Support and Opportunities for AI-Enhanced Student Services” will explore how AI and strategic communication can improve access to campus wellness resources and develop scalable, responsible strategies to support student well-being across the UT System.
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Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
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Champion for mental health: UTC’s Amy Kyriakidis recognized for suicide prevention efforts
