For the first time in my career as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I binge-watched a television show for work.
The Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” tells the story of a high school student who commits suicide, and the 13 tapes she leaves behind to explain her motivation. Since its release in March, the show has received a wide range of kudos and criticisms—kudos for raising awareness about teen suicide and criticisms, rightly, for glamorizing suicide. Glorifying what is essentially a crisis is regrettable because of the possibility of copycat suicides, but it’s also inevitable, given that it is one way for the series to engage viewers into discussing the series and spreading the word about it.
As a psychiatrist who works with teens I think the series is making a positive contribution toward destigmatizing a topic over which we can no longer afford to keep silent.
[For more of this story, written by Takesha Cooper, go to https://edsource.org/2017/dest...to-save-lives/583597]
Comments (0)