Experts offer suggestions to help prevent teen suicide

By Staff Writer

Stories of teen suicide have made national headlines recently, which has prompted experts in the San Francisco area to offer helpful tips to concerned parents, the Saint Anselmo-Fairfax Patch reports.

A family counselor at the Community Healing Center said that children do not know how to discuss depression and suicide because many adults do not either. She said the topic is considered taboo by some individuals, which dissuades certain people from talking about emotional troubles.

An official at the Community Institute for Psychotherapy suggests that parents steer their children away from overuse of the phone or computer. She also recommends that families get into the habit of group dinners and trips, which can create a more conducive environment for discussion.

A doctor at the National Institute of Mental Health states that children should be taught to tell an adult if one of their peers is expressing extreme sadness or suicidal ideas.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a national survey found that 15 percent of high school students have seriously considered suicide in the last 12 months. The CDC reports that approximately 149,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 receive emergency care for self-inflicted injuries each year.