Social Workers, Be Prepared for "13 Reasons Why," Season 2 - New Toolkit Helps With Resources and Guidance

by Linda May Grobman, MSW, ACSW, LSW

     Social workers, are you prepared for Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why? Around this time last year, this series took the world by storm, sparking much discussion among teenagers, parents, and professionals. I soon began to hear concerns from social workers and other experts in the mental health and suicide prevention fields about the way in which the series portrayed very serious issues such as suicide, bullying, and rape.

     Over the years, other shows have portrayed adolescents facing some of these same issues. Such shows have the potential to provide valuable insight, to help teens feel that they are not alone, and perhaps prompt them to seek help when needed. But never had a show portrayed these issues in such a graphic manner.

     With the release of Season 2 of the popular Netflix series on May 18, 2018, 75 leading mental health, education, suicide prevention, and healthcare experts collaborated on a comprehensive resource called the 13 Reasons Why Toolkit. The toolkit, published by SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) was developed in response to these concerns. The toolkit is in the form of a website, with the "Guidance" sections also available in a downloadable PDF format.

     Thirty organizations participated in this effort. I was disappointed to see that no social work-specific organizations were among the 30. I do not have any information on why this is the case. However, there was social work input on the project.

     Jonathan B. Singer, Ph.D., associate professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago and Secretary, American Association of Suicidology, is one social worker and suicide prevention expert who reviewed and submitted comments on the toolkit prior to its release. He told The New Social Worker, "The toolkit is invaluable. Social workers can use it to prep for therapy sessions, running groups, doing psychoeducation with teens and parents, writing editorials, talking with journalists, doing professional development for colleagues, and for preparing themselves as they watch Season 2."

     The toolkit provides specific guidance for parents, educators, youth, clinicians, and media. For example, the "Guidance for Parents" section covers talking with your child about suicide, school shootings, bullying, substance abuse, sexual violence, and what to do if you're worried your child may be suicidal, along with resource links.

     The "Guidance for Clinicians" section helps professionals in guiding their clients who may be considering watching the series, and it includes information on being better resources to the media and promoting help-seeking behavior. The clinicians' section also includes resources on the specific issues of suicide, bullying, sexual trauma, school shootings, and substance abuse, as well as research related to the first season of 13 Reasons Why.

     In addition, the toolkit includes a listing of hotlines and other resources for Australia, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

     According to a statement on the toolkit website, "Research demonstrates that depictions of violence and self-harm can increase the likelihood of copycat behaviors. Adolescents are a vulnerable and highly impressionable group, frequently copying others’ behaviors or reacting in response to things they have seen." The toolkit provides a listing (with links) of 106 research studies.

     Singer adds, "Social workers should take notice that this is a product that is being shared around the world. Social workers have issues like this come up all the time. It is a good template for how to think about collecting, organizing, and disseminating information."

     To access the toolkit, visit the 13 Reasons Why Toolkit website (https://www.13reasonswhytoolkit.org/).