Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people – CDC
Colorado’s teen suicide rate jumped from 2017-2019
Across the country, youth suicide is up the past 3 years
Then there is the statistic that took my breath away:
“Acute conflict with parental figures precedes 40% of teen suicide cases.”
I had to dive in. This is a public health crisis. More personally, as a mother of six teens and young adults, I needed more insight into what we as parents can do to help protect our kids from such heartbreak.
A team of youth and I conducted a research
project during the summer of 2019.
We asked teens:
We surveyed parents and interviewed mental health professionals.
We learned a lot about parent-teen relationships. I had my flight and hotel booked, ready to present this research at the annual conference the International Family Therapy Association in Basel, Switzerland in mid-March, 2020. It was COVID-cancelled. I am looking for ways to share what I learned with 1) mental health professionals and 2) parents of teens. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to me. I am also applying learnings from this research in my “Family Alchemy” model of family therapy. I am determined to help families reduce conflict between parents and teens.
Meet the Research Team
Kerry Stutzman
Anabelle Adams
Maggie Wright
Haley Hammond
Heather Rynders
Vara Tummala
Amanda Brice
We are on a mission to change the dynamic of relationships between teens and parents!
This research is a big part of the reason why we launched The Connected Family.
