Introduction
A very dear friend recently confided hat she is seriously considering "ending it all," that life has become so much of a painful struggle, she no longer wants to live. How can you tell if a suicide threat is credible or a ploy to get attention?
Social workers are highly skilled in crisis intervention and can help you to determine how real a suicide threat is. The social worker can also point you in the right direction. This might be as immediate as a trip to the emergency room, or an appointment with a mental health professional for one on one counseling or psychotherapy.
The social worker can also offer counseling for all those involved, whether it's the friends who have been taken into confidence by a person threatening to kill himself, or the families who have discovered that a loved one is suicidal.
Social workers also recognize the need to actively reach out to at-risk teens and to educate the school community about warning signs and suicide prevention. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 24, right behind unintentional injury and homicide.
