Surviving the Teens® Program History
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Surviving the Teens® Program History *
Program Origins (2001 - 2004)
Surviving the Teens® began in 2001 at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, supported by the J.E. & Z.B. Butler Foundation’s commitment to youth‑suicide prevention. Their support made it possible to launch a school‑based program focused on depression awareness, suicide prevention, coping skills, and help‑seeking behaviors for adolescents.
The original grant was written by Terri Thrasher, RN, who developed the surveys, pre‑ and post‑tests, and evaluation tools and submitted the materials to the Institutional Review Board. Dr. Kathy Rappaport was appointed to oversee the grant and later served as Cathy’s clinical advisor, helping guide the program’s early structure and implementation.
Cathy Strunk, MSN, RN, a psychiatric nurse in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, developed the original Youth Depression and Suicide Awareness curriculum and began teaching it in schools across Greater Cincinnati. By the end of the 2003 school year, the program had reached approximately 12,000 students, reflecting the strong demand from schools and the urgent needs of teens during those early years.
The program’s overarching goals, as described in the program brochure, include:
increasing help‑seeking behaviors among troubled youth and their peers,
increasing family and school connectedness,
decreasing suicidal and other risk‑taking behaviors,
and improving students’ coping skills.
Naming the Program
The original grant envisioned implementing the curriculum in three schools during the first year. However, the need was far greater than expected. The program reached 15 schools in its first year, 17 schools in the second, and 21 schools in the third. By 2004, the curriculum had grown far beyond its initial scope and was reaching thousands of students across Greater Cincinnati.
During this period of rapid expansion, Cathy had been praying for a name that captured the heart of the work and reflected the challenges teens were facing. When her nineteen‑year‑old son, Terry, died on June 18, 2004, the direction of the program became unmistakably clear. About two weeks later, the name Surviving the Teens® came to her. Terry had not survived his teens, and the name reflected both the reality of his loss and the purpose of the program.
The new name prompted a more in‑depth discussion of grief and loss and added risk‑taking behaviors as another essential topic. The program later incorporated the need to find hope, rounding out the emotional and practical guidance teens were seeking. The naming marked a turning point in the program’s identity and helped schools recognize that Surviving the Teens® addressed the full emotional landscape of adolescence.
When Dr. Kathy Rappaport accepted a position out of state, Dr. Michael Sorter, the Medical Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, became Cathy’s clinical advisor. His steady guidance supported the program’s continued growth during this period of transition.
About two years after naming the program, Cathy prayed for a simple, memorable way to guide teens in responding to suicidal thoughts. The Holy Spirit inspired the mnemonic “LAST,” which became the foundation for the Steps to LAST. These steps provided clear guidance both for someone helping a troubled teen and for teens who were emotionally struggling themselves, and they significantly increased help‑seeking among students.
National Recognition
As Surviving the Teens® continued to expand across Greater Cincinnati, the program began receiving national attention for its measurable impact on adolescent mental health. A peer‑reviewed evaluation published in the Journal of School Health demonstrated significant reductions in suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts among high school students three months after completing the program. Students also reported improved coping skills, increased willingness to seek help, aAs nd greater confidence in supporting their peers.
These outcomes positioned Surviving the Teens® as one of the few school‑based suicide‑prevention programs with documented effectiveness. Media coverage and professional publications highlighted the program’s results, and its evidence‑based approach drew interest from educators, mental‑health professionals, and suicide‑prevention organizations across the country.
The national recognition affirmed the strength of the curriculum and the importance of providing teens with practical tools, honest information, and hope. It also underscored the program’s role in shaping broader conversations about youth mental health and suicide prevention.
Program Expansion and Transition
In 2017, Cathy hired two additional trainers to support the growing demand for Surviving the Teens®. During the 2017–2018 school year, she began enlisting more schools, and by the end of that year the program had expanded to 51 participating schools. Before retiring, she secured commitments from 19 additional schools for the next school year, bringing the total to 70 schools. As these expansion efforts were underway, the hospital also began exploring ways to update and refine the existing Surviving the Teens® curriculum. Cathy worked closely with Tier1 Performance, providing them with the complete training manual, session materials, and the full structure of the program she had developed over nearly two decades. Their role was to help organize and refine the existing content as part of the hospital’s early revamping efforts. The revamping process continued after her retirement and was not completed until 2019. Once the revisions were finalized, the hospital later renamed the updated version ADAPT for Life, building on the foundation established by Surviving the Teens® and the evidence‑based framework Cathy created.