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how to help a teen in crisis?

Posted by christophrejmc on February 9, 2002, at 0:59:43

Lately I've been talking to a cousin of mine who has been diagnosed with bipolar depression. It's strange for me to talk to anyone from that side of my family (I dislike most of them very much) but she had known that I had spent a lot of time hospitalised as a teenager, and she needed some support from someone who understood what it was like to experience mental illness. I'm terrible at talking about my problems with anyone and even worse at talking about anyone else's problems; but the relationship seems to work quite well anyway.
I know she has thought about suicide recently and has acted on such impulses in the past. I don't know quite how to handle this. Her parents tend to ignore her illness. She sees a psychologist, but she doesn't feel comfortable talking to him. Her (new) psychiatrist denies that she has any illness whatsoever and refuses to discuss medication options.

I'm unsure of what to do if I suspect she is in danger of harming herself. I do not want to betray her trust (from my personal experience, this is the worst part and as a result I never tell anyone I'm suicidal anymore in fear of their over-reaction). [Many of the strategies used with suicidal adults are very different from those advised for use with adolescents (Pamela Cantor, PhD. has written a few very good articles about this).] Does anyone have any suggestions? I think anything that would harm our current relationship would be very bad, as it seems like I am her only means of support.

Thanks,
Christophre.


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poster:christophrejmc thread:17987
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020202/msgs/17987.html