Parenting in the Rain, Episode 18

When a Child has Suicidal Thoughts

In This Episode:  

Below are some snippets from a

conversation with Jonathan Singer, LCSW, Ph.D.  on thisepisode of Parenting in the Rain podcast.

Jonathan shares that suicide is

the 2nd leading cause of death in the United States. 

“Risk factors” are different

than “warning signs” when talking about the issue ofsuicide.

Risk factors are conditions that

increase the person’s chance that they may try to take their lifeby suicide.  It is important to know that having risk factorsdoesn’t equate to suicide ideation or intent.

Warning signs are things that

let you know that there are foreseeable plans for suicide in thenear future.   It’s important that a thorough assessmentis done by a mental health professional if warning signs arepresent.  

Expressing “hopeless” about the

future and talking about a plan are some warning signs to be awareof.

It’s important for parents to listen to their children,

especially when warning signs are present, and to take itseriously.   Dismissing a child’s warnings signsare not helpful and could be dangerous.

When someone dismisses a child’s

thoughts of emotional pain they may interpret the person asconveying “your pain is not a priority to me”.

When adults can determine if the

child wants “to die” or just wants “to be happy”, a supportiveresponse can be more aligned with what is the best help for thechild during that time.

Parents should seek support from

mental health professionals before suicide ideation is present if possible. 

Sometimes the egocentric state

that can be present in teenagers due to a natural developmentalstage of adolescence can lead them to feel like thoughts of suicideis something that “everyone” has present in their lives and feelinglike it is “normal”.  It is important to  concernsrelating to suicide early and often.

It’s important to seek

assistance from professionals when you suspect suicidal thoughts;parents should not try to figure out how to help their child ontheir own as even the professionals consult since it can be acomplex and is a serious matter.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI)

is the intentional, self-inflicted harm to one’s body.  

If someone is engaging in

self-harming behavior, even if believed to be NSSI, a suicide riskassessment should be performed in a professional setting.  

There are many reasons why

children engage in self harming behaviors, mental healthprofessionals can perform a suicide risk assessment and help withissues surrounding the self-harming behaviors.

“Postvention” happens after a

suicide death to support people as it pertains to prevention offuture deaths by suicide and to address the grief and trauma of thebereaved.

Jonathan mentioned a great

resource for schools, “After a Suicide: A Toolkit forSchools”