Facilitating Connection and Saving Lives
The purpose of this paper is to detail a group aimed to provide support for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents. The paper begins by examining literature related to adolescent suicide rates, the lack of personal and community resources for teenagers, and adolescent development and mental health. The paper will then address the methodology, purpose, and goals of the group. The paper will address the role of the leader. He/she will utilize an Adlerian theoretical orientation and will be involved, directive, and authentic. The leader will attempt to facilitate social relatedness and corrective emotional experiences for group members. The paper will briefly review group evaluation, and it will examine potential ethical/multicultural issues that this leader and group may encounter. The paper will conclude by detailing activities that will be utilized throughout the six weeks of the group experience.
Literature Review
Adolescent Suicide and Distress
One young person—age ten to 19—takes his/her own life every 90 minutes (Gould et al. as cited in Kitts, 2005, p. 622). Russell and Joyner revealed that adolescents who identify as gay or lesbian are two times more likely to attempt suicide than straight adolescents (as cited in Kitts, 2005, p. 624). The risk factor for suicide for gay and lesbian adolescents is not their sexuality, but psychosocial distress they experience due to their sexuality (Kitts, 2005). Adolescents
The first source, “Suicidality Among Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth,” researches a study of 21,927 sexually active students in the grades 9 through
Gay teenagers are a large portion of teens taking their lives by suicide this source states that 30 to 40% of gay boy and 20% of gay girls have attempted suicide. This group of teens feel isolated, lonely and reminded that
Case Study 14.1: David’s coming Out Process 1. What are the developmental challenges for sexual minority youth, as articulated in David’s story? David’s story points out the complicated lives that LGBTQ youth experience, youth who identify as transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide, and studies show that that higher risk stems from their experiences of discrimination and victimization. David’s journey as a gay teen reveals the challenges some young people face just for being who they are.
Gay teens have significantly higher rates of both attempts and thoughts of suicide. In his study on gay teen suicide, Patrick Healy concluded that gay teens are "five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers"(2001). As reported in "Lesbian News", "these youth account for 35% of the American population and 15% of all suicide deaths"(Ocamb 2001). Of the 4,000 students who were surveyed in 1997, 40 percent out of the 10 percent of high school students who attempted suicide were gay. For many gay teens their everyday existence can cause severe psychological damage. When they are at school they are taunted and
This week clinical I felt better prepared than I did with my first week. I was able to focus a lot more on interpersonal skills and develop therapeutic relationship with my patients. In terms of Mental Status Examination (MSE), this assessment provided me with a helpful base of information from which to observe changes, progress, and monitor risks. Especially, suicide risk assessment is a gateway to patient treatment and management. The purpose of suicide risk assessment is to identify treatable and modifiable risks and protective factors that inform the patient’s treatment and safety management requirements. I got insight into how important it is to document suicide risk assessments with sufficient information. Documentation of suicide risk assessments facilitates continuity of care and promotes communication between staff members across changing shifts. It is easy for suicidal patients to “fall through the cracks” of a busy psychiatric unit that has rapid patient turnover of admissions and discharges, and mostly during shift change. Asking question such as “What is your view of the future?” or “Do you think things will get better or worse?” helped me to elicit important information regarding patients suicidal ideation. Additionally, how my patients expressed their hope about the future assisted me to identify, prioritize, and integrate risk and protective factors into an overall assessment of the patient’s suicide risk and include in MSE.
Suicide. The word catches everyone’s attention; it is the actions leading up to the suicide that goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, the suicide rates continue to increase, and the why remains unknown. In the United States, 44,193 American's died by suicide in 2015 with the state of Kentucky ranking 19th for the highest suicide rates (American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, 2015). In the state of Kentucky, there is a suicide every 12 hours (American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, 2015). Additionally, suicide is the second leading cause of death among the youth population in the state of Kentucky (Kentucky Center for School Safety, 2016). Suicide has the potential to impact everyone without discrimination. Therefore,
In recent years, sexual orientation has often been hypothesized in being a causal factor for adolescent suicides. This paper examines the decrease in suicide rates of LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) youth since the 1980’s, and claims that increased visibility of issues of sexual orientation are correlated with this reduction. This research begins by providing statistical information concerning LGB youth suicides in the 1980’s and now to first, highlight the proportions of suicide rates based on sexual orientation and second, elucidate the drop in LGB suicides. Next, focus will shift to the ways visibility empowers LGB youth through its elucidation in social justice movements and LGB-friendly social media. The aim here is to reveal that visibility
Day to day, teens suffer from peer pressure, problem from home, and stress from academics. Despise their status in the environment, majority of high school students refrain from acknowledging the presence of their reality. The problem in most situations in that students feel shut in, trapped in a never ending misery. How do they cope? What are their ways of dealing? Most students live in denial. Others have friends to confide in. For the devastating part, most students are not as open to these ideas and it leaves them with this alternative: suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause in teens the ages 14 to 19 within rural underserved areas. Suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal thoughts, were surveyed in over 12 high schools and it was found that in the past year, thoughts of (SI) were not shared with peers or even adults in the pursuit of receiving help or support (Pisani, 2012). Because a student spends most of their day at school, it is ideal for schools to provide realistic opportunities and school-based programs to assist with the suicide among the youth. The Surviving the Teens Suicide Prevention and Depression Awareness Program designed four 50 minute session or each high school student. This presented information in regards to factual information about depression, suicidal warning signs, suicidal risk factors and myths associated with suicide (King, 2010). The program provide coping strategies for everyday life, referral sources if feeling suicidal, and how to recognize
Nearly 26 per cent of GLBT youth are forced to leave their homes due to disputes concerning sexual orientation. This leaves the youth feeling isolated and unaccepted by the family. Often, teens believe running away is the only option. It makes teens feel like they have some control of their situation (Quinn, 2002). If GLBT teens seek refuge in a shelter will they meet the same discrimination and rejection they initially were trying to escape? Counselors at shelters need to be prepared to protect, and not perpetuate, these GLBT teens from further victimization.
A person’s race, gender and sexuality is also a factor that plays apart in teen suicide. A gay or lesbian teen maybe treated unequal by their peers and even adults because of their preferred sexual
Even though teen suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths in teenagers, there are many ways it can be prevented.
Teen suicide is a major problem in our society today. The adolescent suicide rate has tripled since 1960, while being the largest cause of death between the ages of 15 and 24. This is the one single age group that has seen an increase in suicides over the past thirty years. There are about 10,000 reported suicides reported annually. It is estimated however, that the true number of teen suicides is actually three to four times that number when unreported deaths are factored in.
Someone, somewhere, commits suicide every 18 minutes. You might never be able to tell who it will be, it could be the person sitting right next . Statistics reveal that approximately three million youths, between 12-18, have either thought about or attempted suicide in the past year. More than 1/3, actually succeeded.
Youth Suicide Introduction Suicide is a tragic event. It has a profound personal effect on all associated with the person who died. Families, friends and society as a whole are affected. There is a particular poignancy when the suicide is that of a young person at the threshold of life. Australia has the fifth highest suicide rate per 100 000 persons in the world.
Teen suicide is a big problem all around the world, and we try to prevent it by offering help, and medications for whatever these teens are going through. What you may or may not know is that although we do offer help, these teens who are suicidal face negative criticism which sometimes pushes them to do something drastic.