The Inner World Of A Suicidal Youth Revised Edition

Suicide has been a public health crisis for at least the last two decades. When this book was first published in 2007, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), suicide was the third leading cause of death for youths ages 15 to 24, and the fourth leading cause of death for youths ages 10 to 14. Suicide rates have steadily increased so much that, since 2017, it is the second leading cause of death for youths in both age groups, 15-24, 10-14. The rate of suicide attempts has increased even more rapidly over the last two decades, by more than 400%. The U.S. data captured by the CDC is an unfortunate reflection of a global epidemic of suicide. As author Osborne explains, existing approaches to preventing youth suicide have had little impact on reducing the number of suicides and suicide attempts across America. While there are countries with suicide rates higher than the U.S., there are even more countries with rates that are lower. What can we, and should we, seek to learn from countries with much lower suicide rates than the U.S., countries like Barbados, Jamaica, Italy, Peru, and Panama? Like many youths, Electra is a well-loved, beautiful, highly intelligent teenager. By unveiling the private thoughts of a suicidal teenager in this unprecedented book, Osborne hopes that Electra’s diary, which spans 7 years from age 15 to 22, will provide an understanding of the adolescent mind that will spur more effective means to recognize, treat, and heal those at risk, and so vastly reduce suicide among our youth.

Electra is a well-loved, beautiful, highly intelligent teenager. Yet, as is not uncommon, she becomes so depressed she contemplates suicide, considering it for years until she finally takes action. Electra's diary, discovered after her death and presented here by a psychiatrist, reveals her first-person reflections through to her fatal college year, showing how thought distortions are caused and how they chip away at self-esteem and the will to survive. In addition to enlightening professionals and aspiring professionals, this work will empower parents to identify and address growing dimensions in their children's development, and understand the struggles they face. And the end result is that Electra's diary teaches us all a lot about changes that are needed so that we can develop effective suicide prevention and treatment strategies, says author Millie Osborne, M.D. Suicide is now a public health crisis. It is the third leading cause of death for youths aged 15 to 24, and the fourth leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14. As author Osborne explains, Existing approaches to preventing youth suicide have had little impact on reducing the number of suicides and suicide attempts across America. By unveiling the private thoughts of a suicidal teenager in this unprecedented book, Osborne hopes that the legacy of Electra will be an understanding of the adolescent mind that will spur more effective means to recognize, treat, and heal those at risk, and so vastly reduce suicide among our youths.

Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it. Here, Bornstein bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival in an often cruel world. A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World is a much-needed unconventional approach to life for those who want to stay on the edge, but alive. Hello, Cruel World features a catalog of 101 alternatives to suicide that range from the playful (moisturize!), to the irreverent (shatter some family values), to the highly controversial. Designed to encourage readers to give themselves permission to unleash their hearts' harmless desires, the book has only one directive: "Don't be mean." It is this guiding principle that brings its reader on a self-validating journey, which forges wholly new paths toward a resounding decision to choose life. Tenderly intimate and unapologetically edgy, Kate Bornstein is the radical role model, the affectionate best friend, and the guiding mentor all in one.

Using art therapy, lived experience, and DBT skills in combination, this book offers insight into how, together, these methods can help prevent youth suicide. Practical advice for professionals and case studies will result in increased confidence in using DBT with young people. In this helpful and empowering book, readers are guided through the background, theory, and use of art therapy and DBT as a positive intervention. Schorr exemplifies these practices through The Arts in Recovery for Youth (AIRY) model - an art therapy model informed by research in suicidology and best practices in suicide prevention. Practical resources and a wide range of art therapy directives are included in order to seamlessly integrate DBT-informed art therapy into caring and therapeutic work with evidence-based measurable outcomes.

Every year, about 30,000 people die by suicide in the U.S., and some 650,000 receive emergency treatment after a suicide attempt. Often, those most at risk are the least able to access professional help. Reducing Suicide provides a blueprint for addressing this tragic and costly problem: how we can build an appropriate infrastructure, conduct needed research, and improve our ability to recognize suicide risk and effectively intervene. Rich in data, the book also strikes an intensely personal chord, featuring compelling quotes about people's experience with suicide. The book explores the factors that raise a person's risk of suicide: psychological and biological factors including substance abuse, the link between childhood trauma and later suicide, and the impact of family life, economic status, religion, and other social and cultural conditions. The authors review the effectiveness of existing interventions, including mental health practitioners' ability to assess suicide risk among patients. They present lessons learned from the Air Force suicide prevention program and other prevention initiatives. And they identify barriers to effective research and treatment. This new volume will be of special interest to policy makers, administrators, researchers, practitioners, and journalists working in the field of mental health.

This text examines the cognitive, emotional, and biological changes going on within the adolescent as he or she interacts with peers on the road to adulthood. The peer relationship is shown to be the most influential force in this period of development. The author presents a new theory--based on empirical data from research with 2,500 adolescents--that makes it possible to identify stages of adolescent development and reinterpret the importance of the peer group in the development of self-concept. She also discusses practical therapeutic approaches.

This comprehensive resource--now revised and expanded--provides school practitioners with an evidence-based framework for preventing and effectively responding to youth suicidal behavior. David N. Miller guides readers to understand, screen, and assess for suicide risk in students in grades K–12. He presents collaborative strategies for intervening appropriately within a multi-tiered system of support. The book also shows how to develop a coordinated plan for postvention in the aftermath of a suicide, offering specific dos and don'ts for supporting students, parents, and school personnel. User-friendly tools include reproducible handouts; the book's large-size format facilitates photocopying. Purchasers get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials. New to This Edition *Chapter on the roles and responsibilities of the school-based suicide prevention team. *Significantly revised coverage of screening and suicide risk assessment. *Situates prevention and intervention within a schoolwide multi-tiered system of support. *Updated throughout with current data, practical recommendations, and resources.