Emotionally Naked

A Teacher’s Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk

By: Anne Moss Rogers, Kimberly H. McManama O'Brien PhD LICSW

Narrated by: Ann Marie Lee

Discover effective strategies to help prevent youth suicide.

In Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk, trainer, speaker, and suicide loss survivor Anne Moss Rogers, and clinical social worker and researcher, Kimberly O'Brien, PhD, LICSW, empower middle and high school educators with the knowledge and skills to leverage their relationships with students to reduce this threat to life.

The purpose of this book is not to turn teachers into therapists but given the pervasive public health problem of suicide in our youth, it's a critical conversation that all educators need to feel comfortable having. Educators will learn evidence-based concepts of suicide prevention, plus lesser known innovative strategies and small culture shifts for the classroom to facilitate connection and healthy coping strategies, the foundation of suicide prevention. Included is commentary from teachers, school psychologists, experts in youth suicidology, leaders from mental health nonprofits, program directors, and students. In addition, listeners will find practical tips, and sample scripts, with innovative activities that can be incorporated into teaching curricula.

©2021 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (P)2021 Tantor

Great information. Mostly okay Performance.

While the book is guided mostly towards educators of young people, there is a lot of information that can be useful to anyone interested in suicide prevention efforts and how to maybe establish some official efforts within your own organization. It lists an incredible amount of trainings you can take and where to find them, it gives critical pointers in how to set up a Storytellers/sharing program, and quotes some key players in the field.

My biggest Hangup was the melodramatic way in which the reader would read notes from young people struggling with thoughts of suicide. I would imagine she thought it’d be giving them more of a voice but, with as often as testimonials are included, it becomes incredibly grating and condescending in a way that she gives every teen the same tone and timbre of desperation. This is just me, but I feel it would have been more respectful (and digestible) to read those things in an even tone rather than attempting to assume what the struggling child may have sounded like.