Your wisdom is needed now - Tampa Tribune this time

[Guest guest]

Shern is the dean of the Florida Mental Health Insitute. He is the man

who is pushing TeenScreen in Florida. Luckily, he failed miserably in Tampa Bay,

but he continues to push suicide scare tactics. The Florida Mental Health

Institute receives massive pharmaceutical company funding. Shern is trying to

take advantage of the suicide of the the son of celebrity Tony Dungy, coach of

the Indianapolis Colts.

He continues to use the marketing strategy " suicide is the 3rd leading cause of

death " even though we know how rare it is.

Please write a letter to the editor.

http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/commentary/MGB34BWX0IE.html

Tampa Tribune

Forging Response To Teen Suicides

By DAVID SHERN

Published: Jan 4, 2006

The Tampa Bay community has been deeply affected by the apparent suicide of

Dungy, son of Tony Dungy, former coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hopefully this public tragedy will mobilize efforts to develop a stronger

community response to similar situations.

In 2000, suicide was the third leading cause of death among 10- to 19-year-olds

in the United States. In 2002, researchers found that one in five teenagers in

the United States seriously considers suicide. The surgeon general has

identified suicide and the mental illness that almost always accompanies it in

adolescents as a critical public health problem - as serious as cancer, heart

disease or diabetes.

Following the surgeon general's lead, most states have developed suicide

prevention strategies. Florida's well-developed strategy is being overseen by a

governor's task force. Clearly we have made great progress in realizing the

importance of the problem and in developing strategies to address it. Yet to be

accomplished is the passage of a bill creating an Office of Suicide Prevention

in the governor's office.

Public education, early identification of problems and accessible services are

all keys to a public health response. Mental illnesses and addictive disorders

remain poorly understood. Many still believe that they are not real medical

conditions. The evidence is overwhelming that these illnesses are real,

biologically mediated disorders for which we have a wide array of effective

treatments.

Misinformation about mental and addictive disorders makes it difficult for

individuals to identify problems in themselves or in their family as conditions

that can be treated. Individuals who are ashamed of their problems are unlikely

to seek help for them. Education therefore is essential to reduce the stigma

that is still inappropriately associated with mental and addictive illnesses.

Early identification of problems while they are less severe and life-threatening

is an essential part of the strategy to reduce suicide. School-based screening

for mental health and substance abuse problems should be as common as screening

for hearing and vision problems. If mental health problems were not stigmatized

and misunderstood, the resistance to school-based screening would be greatly

diminished.

Suicide education programs in schools can help to assure that friends who know

about suicide plans are mobilized to act. Bullying-prevention programs and the

creation of safe school environments also reduce isolation, fear and depression

among teens. Physicians, nurses and other health care providers should be given

the time and the tools to screen their patients for these problems, since they

are the most likely to encounter individuals who are having difficulty. Clergy

and other natural helpers should be supported in their efforts. Recognizing

problems is key to action.

Finally, once problems are identified, services must be accessible and

effective. Discriminatory insurance coverage for mental illnesses and addiction

disorders continues to frustrate access to care. While emergency care is

available for individuals, regardless of their ability to pay, the link between

crisis services and ongoing treatment is weak, and often persons seen in crisis

do not receive follow-up care.

Interestingly, public health officials actively reach out to individuals who are

identified as having various types of infectious disorders in order to be

certain that they are receiving care. Perhaps we should have a similar strategy

for individuals who attempt suicide - to be certain that they find an effective

remedy for their problems. A system that responds passively to individuals with

these life-threatening conditions is not adequate.

Likely nothing will reduce the agony that the Dungy family will endure following

' death. If we can reflect upon it to forge an adequate community response

to suicide, their tragedy may spell hope for the many other families confronting

similar problems.

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You can write a letter to the editor here: JBrown@... and then cc

here: http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/