School psychologists and educators have expressed great concern over the teen drama Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which is based on the 2007 novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. In fact, the series has generated controversy over its portrayal of suicide and self-harm, causing Netflix to add strong advisory warnings prior to certain episodes.

In April 2017, not long after the show debuted, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) released a statement that said,  “Research shows that exposure to another person’s suicide, or to graphic or sensationalized accounts of death, can be one of the many risk factors that youth struggling with mental health conditions cite as a reason they contemplate or attempt suicide.” Then , in May 2017, the United States Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) released a statement pointing out that the show may serve as a “trigger” for self-harming behavior among vulnerable youth, as well as expressing concern as to  how mental health professionals are portrayed as ineffective for youth who have experienced a traumatic event and may be considering suicide.

Mental health professionals have also criticized how the series depicts suicide, which they feel often violates generally accepted recommendations for reporting on actual suicides or not portraying suicides in fiction in order to avoid encouraging “copycat” suicides.