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.

First published in 1993, The Virgin Suicides announced the arrival of a major new American novelist. In a quiet suburb of Detroit, the five Lisbon sisters—beautiful, eccentric, and obsessively watched by the neighborhood boys—commit suicide one by one over the course of a single year. As the boys observe them from afar, transfixed, they piece together the mystery of the family’s fatal melancholy, in this hypnotic and unforgettable novel of adolescent love, disquiet, and death. Jeffrey Eugenides evokes the emotions of youth with haunting sensitivity and dark humor and creates a coming-of-age story unlike any of our time. Adapted into a critically acclaimed film by Sofia Coppola, The Virgin Suicides is a modern classic, a lyrical and timeless tale of sex and suicide that transforms and mythologizes suburban middle-American life.

Bringing together the latest research and theory about a child's inner world and the impact of the world around them, this is a guide to understanding and responding to the emotional needs of traumatised children. Founded on the principle that traumatised children do not have a secure sense of self and therefore cannot relate to the outside world without becoming overwhelmed, this book brings psychoanalytic and psychodynamic understandings of child psychology together with current neuroscience and trauma theory. At the heart of the book is an attachment-informed assessment model and guidance for treatment. Professionals working therapeutically with traumatised children, including therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health workers, social workers and residential care workers, will benefit from the wealth of knowledge and valuable practice guidance presented in this book.

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.

For fans of Girl in Pieces, All the Bright Places, and Girl, Interrupted comes a haunting and breathtaking YA contemporary debut novel that packs a powerful message: hope can be found in the darkness. “Achingly poignant . . . a love letter and a life raft to the brokenhearted.” –New York Times bestselling author Alison McGhee Seventeen-year-old Ellie had no hope left. Yet the day after she dies by suicide, she finds herself in the midst of an out-of-body experience. She is a spectator, swaying between past and present, retracing the events that unfolded prior to her death. But there are gaps in her memory, fractured pieces Ellie is desperate to re-assemble. There's her mother, a songbird who wanted to break free from her oppressive cage. The boy made of brushstrokes and goofy smiles who brought color into a gray world. Her brooding father, with his sad puppy eyes and clenched fists. And Ellie's determined to find out why a piece of her was left behind. Told in epistolary-like style, Rocky Callen's deeply moving A Breath Too Late sensitively examines the beautiful and terrible moments that make up a life and the possibilities that live in even the darkest of places. Perfect for fans of the critically-acclaimed Speak, I’ll Give You the Sun, and If I Stay. "An exquisitely played love song to life, in all of its hurts, wonders, memories, and loves." –Jeff Zentner, Morris Award winning author of The Serpent King and Goodbye Days "A haunting story, punctuated with brilliant points of hope and light. This is an important story. A necessary story . . . Callen’s writing radiates with passion, honesty and love." —National Book Award finalist and Printz Award–winning author An Na

As a teenager, DeQuincy Lezine nearly ended his own life, believing it was the only way to escape the emotional pain that was overwhelming him. Instead, Lezine was able to find expert psychiatric care, and went on to found the first university campus-based chapter of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA. Now a researcher at the University of Rochester's Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, Lezine has devoted his life to preventing suicide in adolescents, and he brings the wealth of his personal and professional experience to bear in Eight Stories Up. He starts by describing his deteriorating state of mind in college, using his own email archive to retell the episode that would nearly claim his life. He then offers hard-earned wisdom and practical advice to other young people who may be considering suicide. In straightforward, easy-to-understand language, and drawing on the psychiatric expertise of David Brent, MD, Lezine discusses the potential causes of suicide in adolescents, how to seek psychiatric treatment, and how to get the most out of professional help. He also surveys some of the therapies used to prevent suicide, how to talk to loved ones about suicidal thoughts, and how to stay healthy at home and at school. The result is both a remarkable memoir and a useful guide that will ease the isolation and hopelessness caused by thoughts of suicide, helping young people to overcome their troubles in a safe and healthy way. Part of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative series of books written specifically for teens and young adults, Eight Stories Up offers hope to young people who are at risk of suicide, extending a lifeline of support and guidance that can save their lives.

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.