Abby’s Story

Content warning: Suicidal ideation 

Abby is a 16-year-old female who was referred to the Bridge Crisis team by her high school counselor following a report of suicidal ideations. Abby met with her school counselor and reported that she experienced suicidal thoughts that she couldn’t control. Her school counselor immediately contacted The Bridge crisis team in order to provide Abby with a suicidality risk assessment.

The Bridge crisis therapist met with Abby, the school counselor, and Abby’s parents at her school. The crisis therapist met with Abby one-on-one in order to individually assess her for suicidality as well as prevent Abby from holding back any pertinent information during the assessment. Abby reported to the crisis therapist that she did not have intent or a plan to engage in harmful behaviors, but she did have trouble controlling her suicidal ideations. After discussing further, the crisis therapist made a clinical decision that Abby was not an immediate risk to herself as evidenced by the suicide assessment. Abby signed an Anti-Suicide Agreement and was provided with the necessary resources in case of an emergency. The Bridge crisis therapist met with Abby’s family, the school counselor, and Abby to report findings from Abby’s suicide assessment and created a safety plan for all parties. After covering all safety precautions and stated that they would be in contact for a follow up session at The Bridge, Abby went home with her family.

The Bridge crisis therapist contacted Abby and her parents the day after the crisis intervention and encouraged the family to seek counseling services at The Bridge in order to prevent future crisis interventions and to work on coping skills to manage suicidal ideations.

Abby met with the crisis therapist for four sessions and learned healthy coping techniques to implement during stressful times in her daily life. Abby was engaged during these sessions and worked hard to manage negative emotions. After one month, she decided to conclude counseling due to previous school commitments. The crisis team member followed up with Abby and her family three months after her last session. Abby reported that she was doing well in school and had not experienced any suicidal ideations since the crisis intervention. Her parents stated that Abby was doing much better overall and were thankful for the counseling support provided by The Bridge.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, click here or call 1-800-273-8255 to be connected with The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The client stories shared on our blog are based on real scenarios, but names and identifying details have been changed or removed.