Information for Teens, Families & Support Persons

• Teens are invited to nominate adults they trust and feel may be supportive. Emphasis is placed on giving youth the autonomy to choose their team of caring adults. These adults can be from their extended family, school, neighborhood, or wider community. Adult support persons have included parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents, as well as teachers, coaches, youth group leaders, spiritual leaders, neighbors, and the parents of friends. If the teen is under 18 years of age, we check-in with parents or guardians for approval of nominated support persons.

• Each youth may nominate up to one parent or primary caregiver to be included as part of their Support Team (i.e., group of Support Persons).
• Some youth involve a parent and some do not, either is fine. Often one or more of the youth's parents may be taking part, in some capacity, in the treatments recommended for the youth. Notably, one of our goals is to extend youths' adult support networks beyond their parents.
• Parents/guardians must also approve adolescent’s nominations. 

• Youth experiencing depression and hopelessness, or related emotional and behavioral concerns, benefit from healthy connections with adults in their lives. A sense of interpersonal connectedness is a known protective factor for youth at risk of suicide.
• By facilitating the nomination of trusted adults and providing them with tailored education and support, YST creates an informed, caring network of adults for each young person. This may be particularly important after an elevation in suicide risk or other crisis resulting in an emergency department visit or hospitalization.
• It can be helpful for other adults to know something about what the adolescent is experiencing. These adults can provide support, encourage the adolescent to stick to their treatment plan, and make healthy choices.  

• No, participating in YST will not change the rest of your treatment. YST does not change the services that a young person receives in outpatient clinics, the emergency department, or during hospitalization. YST is offered in addition to these services and was designed to complement other treatments, such as medication and psychotherapy. The support team actually encourages adolescents to adhere to their treatment plan.

• Adolescents in YST nominate adults that they trust and feel close to. YST Support Persons are typically nominated because they are someone who the adolescent identified as caring and because the adolescent would like to receive additional support from them. Adults in YST sometimes are not in regular contact with the adolescent or live at a distance and this is okay. YST offers an opportunity for increased connection between adults that care and the youth. 

Adolescents who are experiencing emotional difficulties can benefit from extra support and healthy connections from adults in their lives. In YST, adults that adolescents nominate receive tailored education on adolescent mental health, as well as ideas for how to be the most supportive to adolescents. The YST Intervention Specialist will prepare and support adults so they are ready to support the teen as best as possible.  Adolescents who have participated in YST in the past have benefited from the support provided by caring adults around them. Support Persons also describe participation as meaningful and fulfilling. 

• The role of the YST Support Person is to attempt to connect with and provide the youth with emotional support on a regular basis, to encourage adherence with recommended treatments, and, if opportunities arise, to help the youth to make positive behavioral choices. 
• The Support Person is prepared for this role through their participation in an orientation and education session where they learn about the youth's needs and treatment plan. The Support Person also is offered weekly, supportive check-in calls with YST staff. The idea is for the Support Person to maintain regular contact with the adolescent. 
• Contact can vary, depending on the youth’s needs and preferences, and could include a variety of communication methods, including: in person visits, phone calls, video chatting, and texting. The Support Person’s role is simply to listen and encourage the adolescent to make good choices and follow-through with recommended treatments.

• Experience with adolescents is not necessary to be part of YST. It is important to remember that the role of the Support Person is just to be supportive. Adolescents nominate their own Support Persons who they already trust and would like support from.

• During the orientation and educational session, the intervention specialist will provide urgent and crisis resources in the case Support Persons become concerned about the adolescent. Please visit our Youth Suicide Prevention Resources page for additional resources.
• YST intervention specialists will also be available for a 3-month period to answer non-urgent questions and discuss non-urgent concerns.