Quote:
Originally Posted by amandalouise
1 I think you already know the answer to that.. if you hadnt they wouldnt have sent the police and the police wouldnt have picked up your husband. saying "suicide is always an option" people who are not suicidal answer "no I am not suicidal" "no I have no suicidal thoughts" Saying what you did is the same as saying yes, I am suicidal and yes I have suicidal thoughts.
2. yes they had a right to bring your husband home. the person you talked to on the phone didnt know whether you were suicidal or not because you did not tell her no. most people who are suicidal and dont want to be found always say they are ok anyway even if they admit to being suicidal. the police didnt have any idea they would not find you dead, od'ed, or had done other forms of suicide. bringing your husband with them saves time in locating him after the police find you unconscious or so unstable that you are unable to make decisions on your own. most if not all people who think suicide is the option to solving their problems are most times if not all so unstable they need involuntary commitment or arrest for being a danger to their self or others. your husband may also have been needed since you have children that would have been unattended if they hadnt brought your husband along your kids may have been placed in state care.
3 you deserve support for your problems, but your husband now because you stated that on the phone may be feeling like you are calling wolf, faking your problems for attention. when this happens most people dont give the attention so that the person calling wolf wont fake it again. you know you werent faking a suicide attempt just to get attention but your husband may not know that if you have a past behavior of using your problems for attention.
my suggestion breath and then talk with him about it and talk with your treatment providers so that you will understand what things are considered a suicide threat or a statement of danger to yourself or others in your location, so that next time if you do not want the attention of the police and this same reaction from your husband this wont happen.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by amandalouise
thanks for your opinion Tara. what I stated is how we do things here in NY at the crisis center and hospital and other crisis type programs where I live and work. you, your state and the programs where you are may do things differently and thats ok.
each usa state, mental health professionals and mental health programs in each individual state, town, city have their own rules regulations and laws concerning what is considered a suicide threat and how to handle it.
this is how we do things here in NY in the city I am in. Im glad you have a different way of handling it but I do not. if I want to keep my job, and such with NY State then I must do it the way I am told to do it.
if the original poster had called the crisis center where I work I would have had no choice but to alert the police to a possible suicide threat /well check visit. being that she was home alone with her children with no other responsible adult able to care for the children I would have also found out how to reach her husband and have the husband be there in case she had to be emergency transported. the rules where I am say if there is no contact info and childrens other parent cannot be located then child protective services must be called. I would rather make the call to the husband instead of having childrens services step in and take the children in care for their protectyion until an investigation can be done on the mothers stability.
unfortunately here in NY saying suicide is an option is the same as saying yes Im thinking about suicide. we have rules we have to follow here regarding such statements.
Im glad California (where your profile says you are) does things differently. and I understand you dont agree with what I wrote. thats ok. you dont live in NY and work where I do so you dont have to follow the standards and laws that I do.
thanks again for your opinion though.
|
The point is that she did not call a crisis center, she called a treatment provider asking for help. She DID say that she was NOT suicidal when asked. I'm sure there is no rule that constitutes saying it is an option is the same thing as it being an action. That would be like saying getting drunk is always an option for me being equivalent to being drunk.
As a therapist or mental health provider, whatever it is you do, you should be informed of HIPAA laws and know that nobody in a position of authority is allowed to disclose your personal health information without your written consent. New York is not special in that area.
I would suggest you re-read her post and specifically the part where she was asked and told the lady on the phone that she was not suicidal and needed no additional help. You seem to be coming from the point of this person actually making a suicidal threat or gesture, which she did not.
I would suggest the laws in New York to change to reflect the fact that suicide is an option for many and if that is said along with the statement that one is not suicidal and has no intent to act that there be no need to waste precious tax dollars and authorities time to check on the individual. Taking such extreme action in very low-risk cases is wasteful and ignorant regardless of where you are from.
Why is there such paranoia about suicide? OMG s/he is going to do it, quick lock them up! PLEASE! People are responsible for their own decisions suicide included. If a person works in the mental health profession and can't handle the unnecessary guilt they may feel over somebody else's actions they need to be in a different line of work. Period. Suicide happens and unless the person is making threats or gestures, or has acted there should be no government intervention. If the police were called every time I was feeling suicidal they'd have to hire more officers. Just because I am feeling suicidal does not mean I will act on it. This person wasn't even feeling suicidal for crying out loud! She just keeps that door open in case perhaps one day she decides she can't cope with life anymore. That is not a crime and should not be treated as such!
What has the United States come to where we value taking somebody's rights away from them for an opinion they have regarding suicide.