Suicide slipped into the top ten as far as causes of death in the United States (CDC, 2016). Deaths among school-aged children and teens continue to be on the rise; so much so, that suicide has statistically risen to the second leading cause of death among people aged 10-34. Suicide traumatizes those left in its path and how to navigate the grief following a suicide is both tricky and scary. This presentation, reviews precipitating factors in youth who die by suicide, as well as risk factors and red flags for youth who attempt it in hopes of informing prevention efforts moving forward. Additionally, this presentation covers common grief reactions in those working through the death of a loved one to suicide and how to best support those individuals.

LECTURE OBJECTIVES

1) Examine 3000 pediatric suicides to determine factors, causes, and warning signs

2) Identify red flags in suicidal youth

3) Explore educational program ideas to reduce the incidence of suicide

4) Identify steps to take following suicide/death of a student

5) Define basic reactions for grief

6) Describe survivor’s guilt and guilt related to suicide

7) Explore ‘complicated grief’ reactions

8) Discuss ways to get through grief together