Suicide by contagion is one component of understanding suicide prevention. The Centers for Disease Control define contagion suicide as “a process by which exposure to the suicide or suicidal behavior of one or more persons influences others to commit or attempt suicide.” The concept is especially important for adolescents, who by nature are more pliable to suggestions from others. Along with the concept of contagion, suicide is “cluster suicide” which specifies that a cluster has occurred when attempts and/or deaths occur at a higher number than would normally be expected for a specific population in a specific area.
Along with the concern, parents have already about their teens is that suicide by contagion is also influenced by the media. Dr. Gould in her article presented studies that showed how exposure to media information about suicides led to a higher probability of an adolescent attempting suicide. Dr. Gould offered information that the reduction of information about suicide to adolescents may also reduce the likelihood of their attempts.
This information was brought to light in the media in 2017 with the release of the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why. The article alone in Wikipedia about the show cited here has with it numerous studies conducted about suicide by contagion and the possible negative influences of the show. 13 Reasons Why was about an adolescent female who kills herself; she had mailed cassette tapes before her event to a classmate outlining her reasons for her actions. The show was successful but not without controversy.
On one hand, Dr. Jeffrey Bridge concluded that the viewing of the first season of the show resulted in a higher amount of suicides than before the show aired. However, Dr. Christopher Ferguson indicated in his study that no link exists between fictional media and suicide attempts or deaths. And Marco Scalvini indicated, “Fictional portrayals of suicide might empower vulnerable people in terms of normalizing mental health issues, preventing suicidal ideation or encouraging help-seeking. It has been suggested that appropriate portrayals such as those emphasizing negative consequences or alternative courses of action, could actually have a protective, or educative effect.” So the concept of suicide by contagion influenced by the media has both proponents and opponents.
What do behavioral health professionals do to reduce a youth’s risk of suicide? Adolescents will always have access to information about suicide, whether it is social media, television shows, or the news. Pretending it doesn’t exist does not help the professional, the parent, or the teen. But when a youth has a higher probability for suicide, preventive and reactive measures, such as a crisis and safety plans should be implemented. Discussions with the youth when a friend or someone they know attempts suicide should be done mindfully to help the youth distinguish between their emotional pain vs. someone else’s. Support, psychotropic medications, treatment such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy help to bring the youth into the present to deal with their thoughts and feelings, to avoid suicide by contagion.
Praxes provides training on behavioral health topics including a 6-hour course on suicide prevention for licensed CEUs. For more information, please contact us.
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Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
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