More than a year after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the apparent suicides of two teens who survived the Parkland, Fla., shooting has put the spotlight on the aftermath of trauma, and on how to help those at risk of taking their own lives.
Mental health experts caution that suicides are often the result of a mixture of factors. But the deaths, and that of the father of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., have spurred conversations about trauma, suicide warning signs and prevention.
Dr. David Schonfeld, a pediatrician and director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at the University of Southern California, says there's a misconception that people who have experienced trauma may only need services for a finite period of time.
"That isn't the case," he said. "We should hold up the expectation for recovery _ and most people do recover _ but we have to recognize that everyone would benefit from support and additional services, including clinical interventions."
