Spectrum; 90; A Cry For Help
- Series
- Spectrum
- Episode Number
- 90
- Episode
- A Cry For Help
- Producing Organization
- National Educational Television and Radio Center
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/516-gm81j9888x
- NOLA Code
- SCTM
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- Description
- Episode Description
- This episode is the first in the 1969 season of Spectrum. It was filmed at the Suicide Prevention Center of Los Angeles, which the previous year had received more than 7,000 calls from despondent persons on the verge of taking their own lives. Viewers are told that, according to the World Health Organization, each day about 1,000 persons throughout the world commit suicide, and an additional eight to 10 thousand make unsuccessful attempts. In the United States, says producer-narrator David Prowitt, at least 25,000 deaths will be attributed to suicide this year, and the true figure might possibly be closer to 50,000. And so ?A Cry for Help? tackles the following questions: What makes a person become a potential suicide victim? Why are a large percentage of suicide attempts unsuccessful? How can a suicide person be recognized? What can be done to help such a person before he makes an attempt upon his life? The Suicide Prevention Center of Los Angeles, established in 1958, is one of about 100 such community organizations around the US which, in varying degrees, are attempting to help persons who have tried to kill themselves or have demonstrated the potential for the attempt. The Los Angeles unit is subsidized by the US Public Health Service. Appearing on the episode are Dr. Norman L. Farberow, PhD, co-director of the center and one of its founders; Dr. Robert E. Litman, MD, co-director and chief psychiatrist; Dr. Carl I. Wold, PhD, chief psychologist; and Sam M. Heilig, co-chief of social workers. One of the center?s important functions is the maintenance of a 24 hour telephone service with a number for persons to call when they are in a suicidal mood. The center uses these calls to give depressed callers an outlet for talking out their problems, to convince them not to harm themselves, and to try to get the callers to identify themselves so that more effective help can be offered later. On the episode, Dr. Wold handles such a phone call, which, unknown to him, was staged for the program. We have an opportunity to watch his technique as a ?telephone therapist,? and afterwards Mr. Heilig explains specifically what the therapists try to do when they receive a call from a potentially suicidal person. Drs. Farberow and Litman are interviewed concerning the causes of suicide; the kinds of people who are suicide-prone; the relationships between suicide attempts and age groups, social groups, race, sex, etc.; the different methods of suicide and why some are chosen over others; the who of spotting persons who may make an attempt on their lives; and the possibilities of curing a person who is prone to suicide. Spectrum - A Cry for Help is a National Educational Television production. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Series Description
- Spectrum consists of 101-142 half-hour episodes produced in 1964-1969.
- Broadcast Date
- 1969-04-02
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Magazine
- Topics
- Science
- Psychology
- Media type
- other
- Credits
-
-
Director: Mossman, Tom
Executive Producer: Prowitt, David
Guest: Litman, Robert E.
Guest: Farberow, Norman L.
Guest: Wold, Carl I.
Guest: Heilig, Sam M.
Host: Prowitt, David
Producer: Mossman, Tom
Producing Organization: National Educational Television and Radio Center
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Spectrum; 90; A Cry For Help,” 1969-04-02, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed September 10, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-gm81j9888x.
- MLA: “Spectrum; 90; A Cry For Help.” 1969-04-02. American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. September 10, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-gm81j9888x>.
- APA: Spectrum; 90; A Cry For Help. Boston, MA: American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-gm81j9888x