Teen Depression and Suicide

January 11, 2008 Honolulu, Hawai'i

MHA PRESENTS A "BROWN BAG" MENTAL HEALTH SEMINAR:

TEEN DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE IN HAWAI`I: 

Why Does Hawai`i Have the Highest Rate in the Nation of Teenagers Planning & Attempting Suicide?

Friday January 11,2008  11:30am-1:30pm  Central Union Church

1660 Beretania near Punahou, Honolulu; Parish Hall, right side of church campus in back;  parking free on site. Bring bag lunch.

Free of Charge.

17% . . .  of our youth report making a suicide plan in the last 12 months

19.8% . . . (that's ONE IN FIVE) report that they seriously considered attempting suicide

13% . . .  report that they have attempted suicide

Ninth graders . . .    report the highest risk of all

Native Hawaiian youth . . .  compared to other ethnic groups, have the greatest risk.

• What can we -- as parents, teachers, school administrators, health care providers, mental health clinicians, neighbors, family members, and friends - do about this?
• How can we tell if a teenager is severely depressed?  How should we talk to him or her?  Who or what is available to help?
• Are some kids more likely than others to get severely depressed or harm themselves?
• Why aren't more of our kids getting the help they need?
• What are the most effective treatments?  (Do antidepressant medications help or harm?)
• What does it feel like to be a parent of a depressed or suicidal child?

LISTEN TO AND DISCUSS WITH A PANEL OF EXPERTS:

• Cathy Bell, M.D.: Program Director for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Program and Triple Board Residency Program in the Dept. of Psychiatry at the UH School of Medicine.
• Bob Bidwell, M.D.: Adolescent medicine specialist with UH School of medicine who works with a wide variety of at risk youth, providing medical care and counseling; father of a teenager who has had depression
• Jean Adair Leland, Ph.D.: Clinical Psychologist, Kapiolani Child Protection Center and Private Practice; Former Chief Psychologist, Queens Medical Center Dept. of Psychology
• Michael Rimm, M.D.: Clinical Director, Maui Family Guidance Center

For further information, call 808-521-1846 or email mgrambs@mentalhealth-hi.org

*According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, comprised of youth self-reports, conducted biennially for the past 18 years by the Department Education, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Department of Health's Healthy Hawai`i Initiative.

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