WHERE TO GET HELP

“I thought it was interesting to see how each person had such a big impact, even if they didn’t know it,” she said. “I think they should talk about it, maybe in health classes or something. Maybe this could be an eye-opener, because people don’t know how serious it is.”

Dr. Jennifer McTaggart, a clinical psychologist with the Child and Youth Mental Health in-patient unit at McMaster Children’s Hospital, encouraged parents to talk to their kids about “13 Reasons Why” — though she agrees that school may not be an appropriate venue for those discussions.

“I think for most people it’s going to be an eye-opener and a really good conversation starter. Talk about suicide, talk about sadness and anxiety,” she said. “But for some youth, it can be really upsetting.”

McTaggart said that anecdotally, youth are presenting to the emergency department saying that the show was triggering for them. As a result, she says she agrees with how the school board is handling conversations about the show.

“When you get into a school, it’s not just a parent and a child oneon-one. You’re dealing with children with multiple life experiences, so you have to deal with it very sensitively and carefully,” she said. “In order to serve all the youth that they need to serve, I think their approach is probably the best approach.”

McTaggart is also a member of the Committee on the Collaborative Management of Youth Suicide — a grassroots group made up of representatives from the school board, child protection services, children’s mental health, and other agencies. They’ve had discussions about the show’s popularity and how to handle the issue with vulnerable teens.

“We can’t ignore it. We can’t pretend it’s not happening. But we can go about it in a really thoughtful way.”