Mental health experts in Montreal are cautioning parents about the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which centers on a teenage girl who commits suicide.
Doctor Johanne Renaud of the Douglas Institute tells La Presse the TV series may be dangerous to teens already struggling with suicidal thoughts,
She says the mental state of some of her patients deteriorated after they watched the first episodes.
The show deals with difficult topics in a graphic way, including bullying, sexual assault and sexual orientation.
Renaud has watched all 13 episodes. She feels the creators wanted to show risk factors linked to suicide, including bullying, trauma and poor communication between teenagers and adults but faults them for focusing on the tunnel vision perspective of the main character. She also feels the show has a vengeful tone.
Renaud thinks that forbidding teens from watching the series would probably backfire. She feels the safest approach is for parents to exercise great caution, as suicide contagion is a real danger.
13 Reasons Why is based on the book of the same name by author Jay Asher.