IPS Dean Sweeney Addresses Child Suicide
IPS Dean Gladys Sweeney, Ph.D., was commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to provide research and text for a brochure on child suicide.
Entitled Losing a Child to Suicide: Trusting in God’s Mercy, the brochure briefly outlines the stages of bereavement parents experience following the suicide of a child, the signs of mental illness in children, and the Catholic Church’s teaching on suicide in relationship to mental illness.
“The loss of a child to suicide is one of the greatest tragedies life can bring…Suicide can feel like the ultimate failure of parenting” writes Dr. Sweeney.
In the brochure, Dr. Sweeney cites the National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) findings that half of all cases of mental illness begin by age 14.
According to The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, notes Dr. Sweeney, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds and the 6th leading cause of death for five- to 14-year-olds.
A list of warning signs compiled by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is also provided in the brochure for parents to review.
“Amidst grave suffering, there will always be a tendency to want to know why such tragedies occur…Eventually, our faith helps us to let go of the why and to look for the who. There is Someone who can heal us from the wrenching pain of having lost a child: Jesus,” concludes Dr. Sweeney.
For more information about the brochure, please click here