Citation

Ling CG. J. Psychosoc. Nurs. Ment. Health Serv. 2020; 58(6): 2-3.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Healio)

DOI

10.3928/02793695-20200513-02

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Providers involved in the care of children, adolescents, and adults with mental health issues are rightly focused on stabilizing those individuals. However, they should not forget the families and communities; they, too, are grieving with the toll of the often long-standing and debilitating illness. And in the case of one's child, these feelings may be compounded by guilt, exhaustion, insecurity, and fear.

A child's suicidal behavior does not harm the child alone. Parents and guardians are also impacted. Caregivers' needs should also be considered during treatment. Often, caregivers know their child has behavioral needs but may instead be unaware of the depth of those needs (Jones et al., 2019). Caregivers may not recognize the full extent of the danger. They may interpret the signaling as age or developmentally expected behavior, or they may recognize the danger but have been unable to get help. These contexts may also overlap. Juxtaposed on that background and while in an acute care setting, such as the ED, parents have several confiicting duties. These guardians may be in shock from the incident. They may grieve for their child, yet at the same time are trying to be an advocate while interacting with a new service or set of providers. Parents are also key stakeholders in treatment planning (Cha et al., 2018) ...

Language: en