Community Corner

Finding Hope in Woodbury

The Woodbury-based Suicide Prevention Collaborative held its inaugural program at Woodwinds Health Campus last week.

For teenagers dealing with depression or thoughts of suicide, a Woodbury group has a message for them: there is hope.

More than 2o0 people came together at on March 3 to have an open discussion about suicide as part of the inaugural program put on by the Suicide Prevention Collaborative, a group that formed a little over a year ago after a rash of teen suicides in the area.

“People left with hope,” organizer and psychologist Renee Penticoff said, “and that was the most exciting part.”

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There were several representatives from area community groups in attendance, in addition to psychiatric professionals and members of the , said Robin McLeod, a psychiatrist and co-founder of Counseling Psychologists of Woodbury. So many people attended that organizers had to webcast the presentation to another room at Woodwinds, she said.

“I think it went really well,” McLeod said. “We had a great turnout and our guest speaker, Dr. Dan Reidenberg, was incredible.”

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Reidenberg is a licensed psychologist and executive director the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. He told Penticoff that of similar events he’s attended, he had never seen a turnout like the one in Woodbury.

The program had a “friendly and warm” atmosphere, McLeod said, and people felt comfortable sharing and seemed eager to address the issue.

For teens who are coping with depression and having thoughts of suicide, McLeod suggested they talk with a trusted adult about their problems. She said studies show that thoughts of suicide last only 12 hours. “You’re not always going to feel this way,” McLeod said.

As a psychologist, Penticoff said she often works with people who are depressed or feeling suicidal. Initially, she said people should develop a safety plan, tap into their support network, and later possibly undergo therapy or go on medication.

“It depends on the situation,” she said. “If you see signs (of suicidal thoughts), it’s important to ask people about it. It doesn’t cause people to turn to suicide, it actually brings them great relief.”

Two Woodbury Girl Scouts working on their Gold Award—Anna Beckman and Molly Huntley—.

“We wanted to put resources in the school and the community for kids who have depression so they can have a resource to go to,” Beckman told Woodbury Patch at a recent school board meeting.

It was key for area teens to be involved in the event, Penticoff said.

“Teenagers are talking about this all the time, so we thought that we’d open it up to the community and see what they had to say,” she said. “We can talk about this and it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”

Penticoff added: “The theme was ‘Together It Gets Better,’ and that instills the idea of hope.”

The next event for the Suicide Prevention Collaborative is set for July 30, though Penticoff said the group is still working out the details of what that program would entail.

As for the March 3 event, Penticoff said, “It’s a beginning; it’s a start.”

“It was a great experience for our group and it gives us some momentum,” Penticoff said.

The collaborative will soon look at creating basic training guides for those who often work with teens, such as teachers, employers and coaches.

“The community support and education really does save lives,” Penticoff said.


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