{"id":68372,"date":"2017-05-05T16:50:23","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T22:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-counselors-concerned-by-series-13-reasons-why\/"},"modified":"2017-05-05T22:50:23","modified_gmt":"2017-05-05T22:50:23","slug":"cortez-counselors-concerned-by-series-13-reasons-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-counselors-concerned-by-series-13-reasons-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez counselors concerned by series \u201813 Reasons Why\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Beth
Beth Dubber\/Netflix via AP<br><br>Katherine Langford in a scene from the series, \u201c13 Reasons Why,\u201d about a teenager who commits suicide. The suicide scene has triggered criticism from some mental health advocates that it romanticizes suicide and has prompted many schools across the country to send warning letters to parents and guardians, including Montezuma-Cortez High School.<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Though Montezuma-Cortez High School counselors Carmen Maness and Tammi Slagle said the way the Netflix series \u201c13 Reasons Why\u201d handles suicide is questionable, they said it might help generate helpful conversation.<\/p>\n

The show revolves around the suicide of a 17-year-old student who records audiotapes detailing why she ended her life. It debuted on March 31.<\/p>\n

Maness said Friday that M-CHS students have talked about the show and found similarities to high school life. Students also said it helped them be more aware of their actions and how they affect other students.<\/p>\n

But the show makes no mention of depression or mental health, and depicts few ways of getting help for those who are struggling, Slagle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a show is dealing with suicide and youth, it\u2019s concerning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

If students think a classmate is having suicidal thoughts, they should report it to an adult, Maness said.<\/p>\n

\u201c13 Reasons Why\u201d has drawn criticism for its graphic depictions of suicide and sexual assault involving teenagers. The National Association of School Psychologists does not recommend that vulnerable youth watch the series, according to its April 28 letter to M-CHS parents and students.<\/p>\n

The series may lead viewers to romanticize choices made by the characters in the show, the letter states.<\/p>\n

Maness and Slagle said it\u2019s important for parents to learn about mental health, and to talk with their children about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is lots of misinformation with students and parents,\u201d Slagle said.<\/p>\n

She suggested parents watch the show and talk with their kids about it.<\/p>\n

If parents don\u2019t have that conversation, their kids won\u2019t know how they will react, Maness said. There is a stigma surrounding mental illness and depression, and some struggling students might not want to discuss it with their parents, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an eye-opener talking to students about how their parents would react,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s never had a case where a parent has been upset with their child for discussing depression, she added.<\/p>\n

Adult characters on the show, including school counselors, don\u2019t appear trustworthy or helpful, according to the National Association of School Psychologists letter.<\/p>\n

Maness and Slagle said the school\u2019s counseling staff are highly trained. Both hold master\u2019s degrees in school counseling and have received training on how to recognize signs of depression, mental illness and suicide, Slagle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would never minimize the problem or turn kids away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One misconception is that asking someone if they are thinking about suicide might push them toward it, but that\u2019s not the case, Maness said. Often, the person is relieved that someone cared to ask, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsking if they are thinking about suicide can open the door for them to get help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

jacobk@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

How to get help<\/h4>\n

The Montezuma-Cortez High School counseling office offers the following resources for people who are experiencing suicidal thoughts:
\n National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433), or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
\n National Suicide Prevention Text Lifeline: 1-800-799-4TTY (1-800-799-4889)
\n Suicide Hotline in Spanish: 1-800-273-TALK (Press 2)
\n LGBT Youth Suicide Hotline: 1-866-4-U-TREVOR
\n SAFE 2 TELL Hotline: 1-877-542-SAFE
\n Axis Health System Crisis Hotline: (970) 335-2255 or (970) 565-7946
\n Indian Health Services Clinic, Towaoc: 970-565-4441
\n Cortez Police Department: 970-565-8441
\n Axis Health Systems, La Plata County: 970-995-2444
\n Durango Police Department: 970-375-4700<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

doesn\u2019t treat mental health accurately, counselors say<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21,28,60,337],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-68372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-cortez","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-television"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68372"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=68372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}