I’m a school therapist/social worker who does CBT with my students, and I think you captured the essence of the suicide issue very well. First, it’s not easy to do CBT; many people don’t want to confront their problematic thinking patterns, or aren’t in a position to even start to confront them.

Second, what you ran into the Grace is very common. We experts don’t always know exactly what the problem is. Is it bipolar? Depression? Teen angst? When someone threatens suicide, do they intend to go through with it or is it just attention seeking behavior? What about the next time they threaten suicide? And the next?

It’s beyond difficult trying to treat mental illnesses. Not only are there a lot of similarities between diagnoses, but there are comorbidities, extenuating stressors like trauma, personal choice/client self-determination… And the stakes are so high.

Thank you for sharing this story. The more people are aware of the messiness of mental illnesses, maybe the more we can help the Graces of the world.