September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time dedicated to bringing awareness to suicide and mental health. At Boys Town Nevada’s Behavioral Health Clinic, Psychologists like Dr. Alyssa Gallagher, Psy.D., focus every day on suicide prevention.
Although the prevention of suicide and mental health awareness continue to be important every day, dedicating a month to suicide prevention creates a safe space for difficult conversations.
“There needs to be more conversations about the topic of suicide in children and families,” says Dr. Gallagher. “The month itself gives a lot of opportunity to transform myths.”
One common myth amongst families is that speaking about suicide will lead to more suicidal thoughts.
“Every therapist at Boys Town makes an impact because we are trained to teach parents how to respond to the situation, while normalizing to the kids that we can talk about it, not act on it, and they won’t be judged,” Dr. Gallagher said. “Sometimes kids just need that outlet.”
Boys Town believes it is critical to educate both families and children on suicide prevention. With Dr. Gallagher’s patients, she creates a safety plan with each child, while giving parents a list of tasks to complete such as increasing check-ins and monitoring medications.
“I tell parents to check-in,” Dr. Gallagher said. “Boys Town provides another level of education for parents, so we can support them, so they can continue to support their kids.”
With mental health resources increasingly scarce throughout Nevada, the Clinic’s ability to connect children and families with related resources continues to be a trait that the Clinic’s staff is proud of.
Boys Town Nevada’s Behavioral Health Clinic’s unique access to resources, such as Common Sense Parenting® classes, In-Home Family Services, Your Life Your Voice website and the Boys Town National Hotline, give parents different options of support. Sources like the Boys Town National Hotline allows parents to gain support in various levels of crisis.
“It functions as a hotline and a warm line… sometimes they are needing support in a crisis and sometimes they aren’t always asking for immediate support, but need guidance in the moment,” said Dr. Gallagher.
Access to mental health resources such as Boy’s Town Nevada’s Hotline aid in preventing suicides. In 2023, 881 calls from Nevada were answered and four suicides in progress were prevented by our Hotline crisis counselors.
With our evidence-based programming and community support, Boys Town Nevada’s team turns every month into Suicide Prevention Month.