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In Episode 33: Grieving a Suicide, Part II, we briefly discuss talking with kids about suicide. The key point to remember is to remain honest as you address this difficult topic. Kids will remember if you try to deceive them. If you tell them that __ died because they were sick, but it was really a suicide, they almost always find out later. They learn from your deception that you cannot be trusted to be honest with

In Episode 32: Grieving a Suicide, Part I, our guest, social work supervisor Whitcomb Terpening, discussed the complex issues surrounding grieving a suicide. Of course, no matter how a person dies, grief is normal following the loss.  But, in the case of suicide, grieving is complicated with other feelings and factors: possible shame, the stigma of suicide, anger at the deceased.  So how should people go about grieving a suicide? Many people focus on the “right”

In Episode 31: The Workplace & Suicide we discussed how many offices have programs and benefits that may help a colleague in crisis. One option for an employee may be to utilize EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs) in the workplace.  In this blog we want to delve into how EAPs function, the professionals that are employed by them, and some of the things that you need to know when using one of these programs. What is

In episode 30: Firearms & Suicide, we discuss the importance of securing firearms so that they will not be used in a suicide attempt.  In this blog we want to elaborate on how gunlocks prevent suicide. What methods are available to secure firearms?  What are the pros and cons of the various methods? Where can you get gunlocks?  Do they really reduce suicide risk? Do Gunlocks Prevent Suicides? Simple answer:  YES  This has been demonstrated in numerous

In Episode 29: Mental Illness & Suicide we touched on the difficulties in diagnosing mental illness.  Mental illness is usually diagnosed by the symptoms. There is a lot of overlap between diagnostic groups and symptoms. A particular symptom may be characteristic of numerous diagnoses. For example, depressive symptoms such as sadness and lethargy, are associated with the diagnosis of major depression. However, persons with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, borderline personality, and even physical ailments like heart