Links

SPTS is committed to supporting education and research in the field of youth suicide prevention. While the internet includes many youth suicide related websites, not all are reflective of best practices in the field. Here are a few that give accurate, evidence-based information, as well as provide links to other excellent resources:

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
www.sprc.org
Provides a searchable database of research, web-based resources, and information on suicide that is current and accurate.

American Association of Suicidology
www.suicidology.org
Includes references and articles on suicide, data fact sheets, and other relevant, topical information.

American Foundation of Suicide Prevention
www.afsp.org
An exceptionally good resource for survivors of suicide.

The University of Southern Florida
theguide.fmhi.usf.edu
Contains a downloadable guide for a comprehensive school suicide prevention program.

National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC)
nahic.ucsf.edu
NAHIC provides the The Mental Health of Adolescents: A National Profile, 2008 (593k PDF), an excellent, current review of the emotional health of youth and adolescents.

In addition to these sources, we are including some additional links that our clinical staff have found helpful.

For Parents

Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention
www.suicideinfo.ca
Has an especially informative section for parents that addresses how to handle resistance to counseling and what to do if your child has made a suicide attempt.

A Parent's Guide to Recognizing and Treating Depression in Your Child yspp.org/documents/YSPP_depression_Final_low.pdf
From the Washington State Department of Health, an excellent, easy-to-read pamphlet for parents that provides a clear description of depression in youth (2.1MB PDF).

State of Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program for Parents
www.maine.gov/suicide/parents
A quick review of frequently asked questions about youth suicide. Also includes a review of the ways in which parents can provide support to teens that have lost a friend to suicide.

Interview with Bev Cobain, mental health professional and cousin of Kurt Cobain
www.ahealthyme.com/topic/cobainqa
Talks about recognizing and reacting to potential precursors of youth suicide.

For Teens

Reach Out!
www.reachout.com.au
A really great website for teens that includes a section called "sorting stuff out," which addresses the variety of problems and challenges that kids face today. It includes a short, self-test for depression with great suggested readings, and another section called "feeling like crap (or when life sucks)". There's another section on finding help that gives useful information on types of therapy and medication for depression.

HealthyPlace.com
Good information on handing feelings of suicide or what to do if a friend talks about suicide.