Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Glenbard Parent Series program addresses youth suicide, anxiety and depression

 On Sept, 28 the Glenbard Parent Series hosted mental health advocate Ross Szabo and clinical psychologist Jason Washburn Ph.D. in a program titled "Behind Happy Faces: Suicide, Let's Talk About it".

Ross Szabo is an award-winning pioneer of the youth mental health movement and the CEO of the Human Power Project.  He is the author of Behind Happy Faces: Taking Charge of Your Mental Health and A Kid’s Book About Anxiety.  He has spoken to more than 1 million students about the importance of mental health and provided a positive example to empower them to seek help.

Dr. Jason Washburn joined us to help provide an understanding of common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression and their individual differences, is licensed clinical psychologist.  Dr. Washburn spoke on suicide myths and facts, suicide contagion, risk factors, as well as warning signs, and provided prevention tips for parents and students. He is the Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Practice at Amita Health, a Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine where he is the Director of Graduate Studies for the MA and PhD programs in Clinical Psychology, and Director of Research in the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Children’s Hospital.


Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, Janet Cook shared remarks following the program and this  takeaway:

"Normalize mental health, seeking help is a sign of strength, and the earlier, the better.  Educate your child about their family history, and  yourself on the warning signs.  Empower your child, don't enable them. Turn confrontation into conversation-always leaving the door open to talk.  Ask open-ended questions.  Check in regularly, do not fear asking directly about suicide, it saves lives: remain clam, nonthreatening, respond with empathy, reassurance and validation, letting them know you care, and that help is available. Help them prioritize the positives, model healthy coping strategies and self-care. The schools are engaging in the worked needed to support mental health and will keep moving forward in this area."


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