Child behavior professionals are not untouched by family suicides.

On July 31,1984, my 18-year-old son, Kevin, committed suicide. The pain of hearing that news from the two policemen who came to my door was indescribable, but my wife and I weren't surprised by Kevin' s death. He fit the classic profile of a suicide victim. He had tried before, and he had been hospitalized for depression. But what was most humbling about our son' s suicide was that I was unable to prevent it. You see, I have spent my entire 30-year professional career working with troubled teenage boys.

Kevin was part of a tragic national trend. Approximately every hour and 40 minutes in the United States, a teenager takes his or her life. That's 6,000 successful suicides per year, making it the second-leading cause of death for teenagers. (The leader is also behavioral: accidents. -- Ed.) Almost equally disturbing are the 90,000 suicide attempts each year, proof that across the nation, from inner city to suburb, our youngsters are becoming increasingly depressed. In fact, since 1955, the suicide rate has tripled for young men and doubled for young women.

Following Kevin' s death, I became actively involved in the issue of teen suicide, lecturing around the country, appearing on…