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Youth Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Research Center

Youth Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Research Center

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If you need immediate assistance, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in children and young adults ages 10 to 24, with more than 6,750 deaths a year. For children ages 3 to 17, 3.2% of that population — some 1.9 million kids — have been diagnosed with depression, and there are more who go undiagnosed.

The Youth Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Research Center (Y-SPIRC) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) was created to turn around these grim statistics by taking a holistic approach. The center incorporates clinical care, research, education and community engagement. Together, the center aims to find ways to improve the identification and treatment of depression and other mental illnesses that can lead to suicide in children and youth.

Our ambitious goal is zero youth suicides.

How we serve you

Our programs strive to prevent child and youth suicides by treating children with depression and related disorders.

Conditions we treat

Several emotional and mental health conditions can lead a child to consider suicide. These include:

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Meet your team

Our team includes psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists to help children and youth experiencing depression today, and researchers to discover ways to prevent depression and suicide ideation in the future.

Teen sitting on a bed, holding a cell phone

Our research

We seek to uncover the biological, psychological and social factors that heighten a child's risk of suicide, so we can develop protective interventions. We hope to use our findings to create personalized medicine solutions.

Father and son smiling together looking at a laptop computer.

Youth Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Research Center resources

If you need immediate assistance, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. We have gathered additional materials on suicide risk for children and youth.

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