Editor’s Note: This article discusses suicide.
CASTLE ROCK — Alexis Doble will always remember when her nephew came to visit her in the hospital after the birth of her daughter.
Kade Doble, 6 years old at the time, held the newborn tightly in his arms and told his aunt he could not wait to be a big brother.
“Kids always gravitated toward him,” Alexis Doble said.
Kade Doble, 13, died by suicide Jan. 24. He was a seventh grader at Castle Rock Middle School.
Kade Doble’s death has underscored an issue school district officials have repeatedly expressed: student mental health is a growing problem.
Mental Health Sparks Conversation
Results from a 2021 Cowlitz County youth health survey found higher reports of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation among students since 2018. Those feelings spiked in middle school students and continued through high school.
About 34% of eighth graders in Cowlitz County schools said they felt consistently sad or hopeless in the last two weeks. Suicidal ideation has remained steady since 2018, with 18% of eighth graders reporting that they had seriously considered ending their own life in the past year.
Data provided by Longview-based Ascent Youth Activity Center shows that of the 1,060 people served, 118 or about 11% of them are eighth graders. Nearly 100 are seventh graders and 104 are ninth graders.
Ascent in 2021 took in 248 clients. In 2022, that number jumped to 503 new clients. Schools across Castle Rock, Kalama, Longview, Kelso and Woodland all have Ascent counselors.
Liana McMillan, a mental health professional with Ascent, said teenagers experience new and challenging social dynamics. Relationships with parents change because parents tend to give more independence when their child reaches teenage years. Relationships with peers change often because of bullying, friend groups and social media.
Social media, McMillan said, plays a large role because students come home from school but still see what their peers say online. And not all of it is positive or helpful.
Elizabeth Cochran, a certified counselor with Columbia River Mental Health Services, said school districts are noticing signs of mood disorders or suicidal thoughts in their students. This has resulted in more referrals and educating school leaders on how to spot warning signs.
“It’s hard to think back to if it ever felt slow,” Cochran said, “but the demand now has definitely been much higher.”
Solving a Crisis
Cochran said no two people are alike, and people process emotions in their own ways. Suicidal ideation is not a “black or white” issue, she said.
“We live in grays,” Cochran said. “I try to see the nuance in it. You need to help them understand that and expand what that might mean for them as individuals.”
Cochran said Columbia River Mental Health Services uses this mindset to encourage “creative coping mechanisms” — music therapy, art therapy, reading books that connect to students, and family therapy. Offering a strong social support system is vital for a young person, Cochran said.
“They’re young, and they don’t have full agency to make those changes themselves,” Cochran said.
McMillan said counselors try to help students pivot away from self-medicating with drugs or alcohol by replacing that behavior with healthier self-soothing techniques. Counselors also help them see situations from different perspectives, she said, to help lift them out of overwhelming emotions.
“We encourage them to connect with their teachers and counselors,” McMillan said. “The best thing about counseling is that the kids have an unbiased, neutral zone to vent.”
Washington state in 2022 signed into law funds for districts to hire youth mental health specialists, counselors or contract with a third-party mental health provider.
Cochran said the center where she works helps guide adults on how to see warning signs and offer help before a student spirals deep into isolated feelings. What they need, she said, is someone to listen and validate their emotions.
Alexis Doble, with the help of Kade Doble’s family, organized a GoFundMe fundraiser and an account with Fibre Federal Credit Union where people can donate. As of Wednesday, more than $16,000 had been raised.
“He had so much ambition. He never quit,” she said.
