You can do an involuntary 51/50 psychiatric hold. Don't worry about whether he'll hold a grudge against you if you're that worried. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks either. From experience, parents don't always do the right thing for fear of doing the wrong thing. If you think he could just be venting then personally I would still push to get him to see a therapist. But you don't want to take a chance. I mean, do it over school break and make sure no one knows if he doesn't want attention brought to himself. I've been where he is but had a gun under my chin. Don't let it get to that. Make sure he knows he doesn't need to get manic about the situation either. That's just my opinion though.