Join Josh Feder, MD, and Mara Goverman, LICW, for a special episode focused on child psychiatry, suicidality, and the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. The show stirred controversy when it portrayed the bullying and suicide of a teenager. Although the program increased awareness of these issues, some clinicians argued that it glamorized the suicide. Netflix has since cut the suicide scene from its streaming service. In July, JAMA published a study of CDC data showing that suicide rates went up 13.3% in the 10 to 19 age group after the suicide episode was originally released in 2017. Evidence suggests portrayals of suicide like this are contagious, but what do clinicians and parents do about it in an age of private streaming media?

Publication Date: 8/12/19

Runtime: 9 minutes, 5 seconds

Articles Referenced:

Is Watching ‘13 Reasons Why’ Bad for Teens?, The Carlat Child Psychiatry Report, March 2019

Voelker R. Mounting Evidence and Netflix’s Decision to Pull a Controversial Suicide Scene. JAMA. Published online July 24, 2019. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.9492

Audio clips of Edwin Schneidman, MD, provided by Regenerate Films, which is part of the nonprofit Regenerate. They were made during Dr. Schneidman's consultation on the Netflix film "My Suicide."