As a parent, you never want your child to suffer or to be in pain, emotional, or otherwise. However, sometimes you just cannot control that. If you are beginning to suspect that your teenager may be suicidal or at least leaning in that direction, you may be wondering what you can or should do to help and protect them. There are numerous steps that you can and should take when this is the case. Get to know some of those steps so you can be sure you are doing everything possible for your child and their well-being and safety.
Contact a Suicide Prevention Hotline
One of the steps you may want to take when you believe your teen is suicidal is to contact a suicide prevention hotline. You can do this yourself or have your teen call them themselves.
If you call a suicide prevention hotline, talk to them about the things you are noticing with your teenager. They will be able to quickly give you resources, reassurance, and other information to help you out with your teenager. They can also determine if the situation is a crisis situation or not and help you come up with your next steps if you are unsure.
Seek Out Counseling
If your teen is showing signs of interest in suicide or death or is otherwise giving off suicidal vibes, you should seek out professional help for your child. Contact a counselor and schedule an appointment as soon as possible for your child.
The counselor will do a number of things for your teen. They will first just sit down and talk to your teen and listen to what they have to say. The counselor can also do assessments like a suicide assessment to determine if your child is suicidal and just how suicidal they might be. This can help to determine the next steps. Sometimes, all that is needed is continued sessions with a counselor, and other times, emergency measures may need to be taken.
Take Your Teen to the Hospital
If your child is actively talking about wanting to complete suicide or threatening to do so, this is a crisis situation. Your child's counselor may also indicate that things are serious. Either way, in these scenarios, you should take your teen to the hospital right away.
You can go to the emergency room for rapid assessment and observation. But if there is a mental health hospital in your area, you may want to go through them directly. Call ahead to schedule an assessment and get there as soon as possible. This could be a matter of life and death for your teen.
Now that you know some steps to take if you think your teen is suicidal, you can be sure you are doing everything you can to keep your child safe in a difficult situation.
To learn more about suicide prevention, reach out to a professional counselor.
Share10 August 2020
When I initially started the therapy process about 10 years ago, I didn't take the time to scout out the right counselor. Instead, I just went to the first counselor that my doctor recommended, and the experience was less than enjoyable. I realized that I might need to do a little research to find the right counselor for me, so I took the time to carefully evaluate my needs and research different clinics in my area. I was able to find an amazing counselor who really seemed to have it under control, and it was incredibly beneficial to see the difference that it made. This blog is all about finding the right counselor.
