Young Writers Society

*heyyyy everyone!! Ellie here with another school paper. This one is due tomorrow! I'd appreciate any help on anything! grammar or my wording or even just thoughts on my writing. BUT PLEASE KNOW: This paper is on the topic of child suicide and hospital treatment (im a sociology major and im focusing specifically on child sucide in the US this term... i know :( its a heavy topic). There is a statistic in this paper directly related to a way a person can die from suicide. PLEASE do not read if you know this will hurt you mentally or make you uncomfortable.*

(the project was to write a paper showing two different sides of an issue in two paragraphs and then to explain my position on the issue in the third paragraph.)

The Effectiveness of Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment for Suicidal Children in the United States

Psychiatric hospital treatment for children is often a last resort and only used when children are actively suicidal or involved in self-harm. It is proposed that this form of inpatient treatment is beneficial in treating suicidality in children. As stated on the website for a child psychiatric facility, "Some children also have issues with trauma or abuse. You can trust our pediatric experts to help you and your child"(Mental and behavioral health care). An article states, "Patients put their lives back together, picking up the pieces torn apart by such illnesses as depression…Patients may find hope in one another…discovering the comfort of shared experiences." (Morris, 2023) It is possible, that in psychiatric hospitals, children can find belonging and be in an environment that allows them to heal. The environment can allow them a safe space to be treated, meet with doctors, and connect with others who share similar struggles.

It is argued that psychiatric inpatient treatment for children can make mental health issues worse, resulting in more attempts of suicide and self-harm. A study shows us that "the postdischarge suicide rate was approximately 100 times the global suicide rate during the first 3 months after discharge" (Chung et al., 2017). It takes less than 5 minutes of pressure on the carotid arteries in the neck to result in death from lack of oxygen to the brain. "15-minute suicide watches tend to allow a patient sufficient time to commit suicide…Almost any article of clothing and any protruding object can be utilized for self-asphyxiation.” (James L. Knoll IV). It is argued that inpatient psychiatric facilities are not safe enough. They put the child in an environment surrounded by others who are also struggling with mental health challenges. Associated with this are issues of copying symptoms of other patients, as well as an increase in suicidality and depression. Hospitals tend to treat symptoms and do not focus on changing the person's environment outside of the hospital.

In my opinion, psychiatric hospitals are useful for the immediate stabilization of suicidal children. Hospital stays should be limited to short visits, which discharge happening immediately once the child is safe enough to return home and is cleared physically and mentally by a doctor. I do not believe that long-term psychiatric treatment is beneficial. We should not be focused on labeling patients and categorizing them by diagnosis. Instead, we should be actively involved in changing their environment. We need to figure out why they are suicidal and how their environment is contributing to their mental state. Keeping the child confined to a building, changing their medications every week, and writing more prescriptions that they can keep track of is not helpful. Hospitals are places where we can watch patients while they are actively suicidal. They are not homes or places where we should be living. The hospital environment will not heal or allow change.