If you had to broach the topic of suicide with a young person what would you do? Would you be prepared or completely caught off guard?

My experience, in the field of psychology for the past 9-10 years, has been that many parents feel lost, afraid, and uncertain.

Broaching the topic of suicide with a young person can feel like one of the most difficult things to do. What do you say? How do you say it? What should you not say? All of these things keep us stuck in limbo.

What motivated you to write another book?

While doing a community-based presentation with Carnegie Library on teen suicide, trauma, and severe mental illness, I remember a lot of parents coming up to me at the end asking if there were resources specifically for them. I felt really bad not having a specific source of information they could rely on. So I gave what I had which were general resources (websites, books, podcasts) in hopes of being somewhat useful. That’s when the idea for a book specifically for parents come to me.

A few years later I was asked to partner with an organization focused on educating and supporting the teaching community. I provided safety webinars and psychoeducational webinars in hopes of teaching teachers how to respond to and support children and teens. Following the presentation I received a lot of comments which prompted me to create a book for teachers too.

The goal of this book

This book is more than a craft. It is more than my duty as a therapist. It is a work of love and compassion. I truly believe that through the knowledge provided I also aimed to transfer my compassion, care, and concern to the reader. My intent is to make the reader feel supported and encouraged to learn more.

I am looking forward to sharing this with you all 5/1/2018. In the meantime, stay tuned for my Kindle version of the book to be released March 1, 2018.

Take good care