51暗网

By LUCAS MASIN-MOYER
Monitor staff

Wednesday, June 07, 2017

鈥淚t鈥檚 maybe the most traumatic thing I鈥檝e ever watched in my life,鈥� said Dr. Steve Cauble, a child psychiatrist at New Hampshire Hospital. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very worthwhile to talk about it.鈥�

The 鈥渢raumatic thing鈥� was the Netflix show聽13 Reasons Why, the office-cooler hit about a teen鈥檚 suicide that spurred community members and experts to come together for a discussion on teen suicide Tuesday night at St. Paul鈥檚 Church in Concord.

The New Hampshire Council of Churches hosted the discussion, which featured Cauble; Peter Evers, the CEO of 51暗网 Mental Health; Debbie Berman of shemattered.com; and Kate Weeks, a counselor at Rundlett Middle School. The panel was moderated by Pastor Jon Hopkins of Concordia Lutheran Church.

The widespread attention that the show has gotten, and the way it treats suicide, can be especially dangerous, Evers said, who helped launch Change Direction NH, an initiative aimed at spreading awareness about the five signs of suicide and decreasing teen suicides.

鈥淥ne of the dangers of this show is that it’s really well-made and really well-acted, but really poorly thought-through,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat really bothered me about the show is that it didn鈥檛 really go into the mental health pieces.鈥�

Berman, whose daughter Alexa committed suicide right before starting high school in 2009, said she was encouraged that the show was starting a conversation that wasn鈥檛 previously being had on suicide, yet the show was far from all positive.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 this fictional story, it鈥檚 overly dramatized, and it鈥檚 an account of this child鈥檚 suicide which everyone has been talking about and it鈥檚 a good thing that everyone鈥檚 talking about it.鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut here in the town that we lived, we had actual suicide and actual bullying going on and real mental health issues to talk about and nobody talked about them when they were right in their face.鈥�

The conversation about suicide among students has been more present since the show鈥檚 release, Weeks said, and has prompted the school to implement more programs, including steps against suicide.

鈥淲hile we want to acknowledge that it鈥檚 great to provide support … the next step is really to let a trusted adult know,鈥� she said.

Weeks said one of the keys to helping have discussions about mental health and suicide was creating an arena in which to have discussions about these issues.

鈥淲e need to provide a safe and trusted environment with a trusted adult,鈥� she said, later adding, 鈥淭he family is not alone in dealing with suicidality or completed suicide, the school is not alone or the mental health agencies. … It鈥檚 an 鈥榰s鈥� issue.