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A friends-and-family intervention for preventing teen suicide

If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

A 16-year-old boy, a high school athlete with good grades, told his therapist that he was thinking about taking his own life. That therapist, Dennis Kolsch, got him admitted to an inpatient ward. “He didn’t have a great experience in there, but he was safe,” said Kolsch, a licensed mental health counselor in Cocoa Beach, Florida. “The family felt comforted knowing that.”

Teens leaving an inpatient program like this one will have discharge instructions on how to continue care, which usually includes medications and psychotherapy.