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Does Talking about suicide make a child more likely to attempt suicide?
According to clinical expert, Joana Stern PsyD, “If a parent is worried that a child may be suicidal, the right thing to do is ask them about it.”
Nadine Kaslow, PhD former president of the American Psychological Association, notes that it can be very hard for parents to accept that their child is feeling bad enough to feel suicidal. In her recent article, What to Do If You’re Worried About Suicide, she offers guidance to those concerned about their child or teen.
Reducing Suicide Risk with Safety Plans
A safety plan is an agreement aimed at keeping a child or teen from harming themselves. It typically contains a series of steps a child or teen agrees to take to cope with immediate feelings and distract them from doing something harmful.
“The goal of the safety plan is not to solve distressing problems, but to help the person get through the next few hours or days when a potentially harmful impulse strikes” explains Caroline Miller in her recent Child Mind Institute article What is a Safety Plan?
What will a Visit to the ER do to help your child?
While there is no psychiatric equivalent of mending a broken bone or stitching up a deep laceration, a visit to the Emergency Room because of suicidal behavior or self-harming behaviors can provide you with a clearer understanding of what your child or teen is experiencing. It can also provide you with what the best course of action at the moment is for your child or teen.
Child Mind Institute freelance writer and parent of five, Julia Johnson Attaway, explains what a parent or guardian might expect during an ER visit for a psychiatric emergency in Taking a Child to the Emergency Room
Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Email: stevhs@livoniapublicschools.org
Website: https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/Page/51
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