Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 to 24 in the United States. According to the American Association of Suicidology, more than 5,000 young adults and teenagers in this age range die by suicide each year. Unfortunately, teen depression is not understood as well as it should be and treatment methods – including inpatient treatment – are not always effective at providing young people with the services and support that’s necessary.

When a teen receives inpatient or outpatient care and still takes his or her own life, it is important to determine if the mental health counselors or care providers lived up to their duties as required by law. A failure to provide appropriate care and to perform a proper suicide assessment can result in a claim against any care provider, while inpatient facilities can also be held accountable for failure to adequately  monitor patients to prevent death by suicide.

Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment Must Help Teens Fight Suicidal Ideation

Argus Leader recently took an in-depth look at the problem of teen suicide, sharing the story of a 17-year-old who took her own life after a lengthy battle with depression. The young woman was a volunteer and mentor to others who took dual credit classes and who planned to attend university in the fall. Unfortunately, her family had a history of mental illness and the young woman began to develop depression after a move and after her parent’s divorce when she was in the fifth grade. She was also a victim of bullying in school, and she began cutting which is a common coping measure for teens who struggle to deal with emotional pressure. She also attempted suicide in fifth grade, and was hospitalized in an inpatient treatment facility.

She ultimately would make several more suicide attempts and be hospitalized at the same inpatient facility several times before dying by suicide.  She received a variety of different treatments, including transcranial magnetic stimulation, which is a relatively new depression treatment aimed at stimulating nerve cells in the brain using magnets. Unfortunately, the treatment efforts were not successful and she died by suicide this year.

Her story is similar to the struggles endured by many other teens, who care providers often do not understand how to treat effectively. Efforts are underway to improve the care young people receive, and 20 states have now adopted the Jason Flatt Act to require public school personnel to complete required training on youth suicide prevention and awareness.

Awareness is important, but can only go so far if the teens who are identified as being at risk are not provided with treatments that make a difference in their depression. Unfortunately, if mental health care providers and inpatient treatment centers do not develop more effective ways of treating and preventing teen suicide, tragic deaths of young people will  continue to occur.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 25th, 2016 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Suicide Risk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.