OUR MISSION
To support the development and implementation of therapeutic intervention for young people navigating suicide loss
Our Vision
To enable all young people navigating suicide loss to lead fulfilling and satisfying lives
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Our Approach
Let’s start off with the problem statement. Research supporting treatment for young people that have lost a loved one to suicide is limited. Why? The reason is that grant funding for mental health is often focused on providing counseling services to those affected and less focused on the development of intervention treatment. Additionally, access to professionals and organizations with the expertise to treat children requiring such treatment is limited by cost and geography.
Therefore, we aim to fund the development of a therapeutic intervention curriculum pilot for children navigating suicide loss. Doing so will enable us to assist in the distribution of research and findings nationwide, ultimately informing counseling efforts for young people.
What is the curriculum pilot? We are partnering with The Wendt Center to develop a new group therapy intervention for teens who’ve lost someone to suicide. This kind of grief is incredibly complex, and teens need a space where they feel seen, supported, and not alone. This new initiative will bring together expert care, peer connection, and real paths to healing. Group therapy is especially powerful for teens navigating suicide loss, and this curriculum can also be adapted for one-on-one support so its impact can reach even further.
This is just the beginning. With future support, we hope to expand to younger kids too. Because every young person deserves the care they need, when they need it most.
Adapt and Overcome is running the Marine Corps Marathon to raise funds for our pilot curriculum! 100% of the proceeds will go to the curriculum’s development. Whether you want to create your own team, join a team, or simply contribute. Please learn more by clicking this link: Run the Marine Corps Marathon with the Adapt and Overcome Foundation
This effort will span three phases:
Phase 1:
Mature and grow our understanding of therapeutic interventions
To begin, we have launched a pilot curriculum for teens with the Wendt Center described above. The knowledge gained here will help us mature and grow our program.
Phase 2:
Distribute knowledge and information to professionals.
Next, we will share knowledge and lessons, through papers, publications, and seminars to enhance practitioner understanding across the United States and Globe.
Phase 3:
Support professionals and organizations with resources to treat young people.
This longer-term “over-the-horizon” goal is to support the implementation and sustainment of intervention curricula nationwide. Given the gaps in service availability, our efforts will first focus on organizations serving rural and isolated communities, local governments, and established non-profits.
Our Story
The story of “Adapt and Overcome” began in 2023 after a friend died of suicide and left behind his partner and two children. I posted a story on Instagram memorializing him and was overwhelmed by replies. Friends, some of whom I had not spoken with in decades, shared their personal experiences of loss and coping with the death of a family member or friend, and many at a young age.
In the months that followed, I thought about the messages, stories, and my own experiences and I kept coming back to the kids that so clearly featured in many of the stories I heard. What about them? How do they adapt to this new reality and overcome its barriers? The question seemed especially critical for those without the means or resources for counseling.
Some of my friends detailed the counseling and therapy services that helped them manage their grief, build resiliency, and grow into adulthood. The more I read, the more I recognized that there are large gaps in awareness and availability of counseling and therapy services across the United States. Additionally, the research supporting therapy for children that have a parent to suicide was itself limited. This was due to most grants supporting mental health counseling and therapy restricted to providing the service as opposed to research. On one hand we have large gaps in access, but on the other knowledge and curricula are limited.
The question became, what can we do about it all?
It’s not an easy answer, but we have to start somewhere, and that means focusing on the primary problem, which is maturing our understanding of therapy required to treat children and developing a curriculum to help young people navigate suicide loss.
There are many outstanding organizations engaged in efforts to prevent suicide but less so when it comes to understanding the downstream effects of navigating suicide loss.
I hope you’ll join us in our mission!
Dan Lagana
Founder
Run with the Adapt and Overcome Foundation
Adapt and Overcome is running the Marine Corps Marathon to raise funds for our pilot curriculum! 100% of the proceeds will go to the curriculum’s development. We welcome all participants. Whether you want to create your own team, join a team, or simply contribute. Please learn more by clicking this link: Run the Marine Corps Marathon with the Adapt and Overcome Foundation
Not your flavor but want to run your own race or event? No problem, just message us directly