CrisisTalk’s Post

Christy Malik and Day Catalano dive into Wyoming’s 988 journey of going from a zero percent in-state answer rate for National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) calls to over 90 percent within a few years of 988’s launch. Prior to 2020, calls by Wyomingites to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline were routed out of state and answered by Lifeline’s national backup centers, resulting in Wyoming Lifeline callers not receiving a localized response. “There weren’t any call centers in the state and the state was definitely interested in having something connected to the [988] hotline because Wyoming people really understand Wyoming, whereas [contact centers in] other states may struggle to do so,” reflects Alicia Johnson, Wyoming’s 988 and crisis program manager with the Wyoming Department of Health, on their 988 journey. Ralph Nieder-Westermann, executive director of Wyoming LifeLine, echoes Johnson’s sentiments, recounting a recent 988 call he answered from a woman who was having a hard time. “While I could not see her, I could sense in her tone of voice the relief she felt that she was talking to somebody who knew what it was like to live in a small town.” https://lnkd.in/e9vQ8Q-R

Can psychiatric pharmacists help ease workforce shortages? #mentalhealth #pharmacists #workforce https://lnkd.in/dmqmXe6J

Writing has long been an outlet for Rachel Havekost, M.Sc., starting with her first diary at nine years old, where she’d process the happenings of her life. When writing her memoir “Where the River Flows,” she returned to her diaries and found her younger self struggling in ways she hadn’t remembered. “I’m 13, wondering if my friends would care if I wasn’t here anymore — adolescence is so hard.” Influencers and businesses using social media, notes Havekost, need to be mindful that among their followers are people “in a really vulnerable state” consuming content to feel better. Some use social media for storytelling and imparting data and resources, while others are focused primarily on monetization or a mix of both. “On social media, there’s a huge pain-for-profit model,” she said, adding that businesses and many influencers use analytics to find the right hooks to funnel users into buying what they’re selling. “Sometimes, these things help; sometimes they don’t. It’s a tricky space for consumers to navigate.” What continues attracting Havekost to social media is connectivity and destigmatization, both of which can help people navigating mental health challenges feel less alone. For years, she felt isolated. At 15, she was diagnosed with anorexia. Three years later, she started having suicidal thoughts. As a sophomore in college, she attempted suicide. “All along the way, I thought what I was experiencing was uncommon,” she said.  #mentalhealth #socialmedia https://lnkd.in/gMAkHmkB

When the The Trevor Project launched its annual national survey, Dr. Myeshia N. Price, who was the nonprofit’s director of Research Science, and her colleagues wanted a more holistic picture of LGBTQ young people and their mental health, especially predictors and risk factors related to suicide. “We wanted our survey to address what we know theoretically affects their wellbeing.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eeb6-Y9u #lgbtq #lgbtqia #lgbtqyouth #youth #mentalhealth This article was originally published on November 15, 2022.

Is it a social media company’s obligation to provide care or at least not harm young people? Former Facebook engineering director Arturo Bejar says yes to both. That’s why social media companies have teams to address these harms within their platforms and to help identify and provide resources for those experiencing mental health challenges.

In this week's article, our editor-in-chief, Stephanie Barrios Hepburn, reported on the lawsuit against Meta by dozens of state attorneys general, accusing the company of deliberately designing Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to young users. She interviewed Arturo Béjar — a former Facebook engineering director and, later, a consultant for Instagram — on internal research, algorithms and what’s needed to make the platforms safe for teens. https://lnkd.in/gkZbPrrP

Senior year for Madeleine Stults wasn’t how it should have been. She was among the 3 million-plus U.S. high school seniors in 2020. She’d already been feeling depressed and anxious. The loss of these milestones and pandemic lockdown orders only intensified her isolation. “It got pretty bad, pretty quick.” She wasn’t alone and that in itself gave Stults some solace and motivated her to volunteer with NAMI Tallahassee. She shares how her involvement in NAMI altered her trajectory. “Not just my career trajectory,” she said, “but also my interests and passions.” https://lnkd.in/gpRWje8Q Photo: Madeleine Stults playing guitar. Photo credit: Kenny Carver. #youth #youthmentalhealth #pandemicgeneration #mentalhealth