WUOT 91.9 FM recently interviewed Leticia Flores, director of the UT Psychological Clinic, and Caitlin Clevenger, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, for a discussion called Dialogue: Suicide in Tennessee.
They were joined by other mental health professionals in the area to discuss the recent spotlight that has been placed on mental health and suicide prevention in the region following the deaths of three Farragut High School students who took their lives this year. The other panelists include Bruce Marshall, executive director of Contact Care Line, and Keith Schultz, father of Spencer Schulz a student at Farragut High School who took his own life in 2017.
While some parents say the school system was slow to act, others point out there’s a larger crisis looming – and recent figures showed suicides hit a record high in Tennessee. In fact, the suicide rate in Tennessee has been rising for years.
Health professionals agree there aren’t enough resources to study the problem of suicide and slow that growth curve. During this dialogue, panelists discuss what is already being done to address mental health and suicide prevention and what can continue to be done in the future.