On Self Harm Awareness Day (1st March) we launched our annual From Harm to Hope Self harm and Suicide Prevention Conference. Throughout March we hosted 9 online webinar sessions from a range of expert speakers on all things self harm (and suicide) prevention. This includes academic, professional, and user-led perspectives focused on the theme Building Resilience for the Future.
Karen’s session looked at an analysis of survey data which considered how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected adult informal carers of adults at risk of suicide. We’ve pulled out a few very interesting points from our session with Karen Lascelles.
- Within the responses given in this data, it was surprising that actually only 61.4% of care recipients were in current contact with mental health services. This highlights the importance of the role that carer’s play in supporting the care recipient, but also highlights the potential for carer fatigue and also that we must take into consideration, the impact on the carers mental health and wellbeing when providing this ongoing support.
- 82 of 101 respondents responded to a question asking if the care recipient they supported had a history of self harm, and in response, 91.5% responded that the care recipient did have a history of self harm. This really confirms what we know in terms of that relationship between self harm and suicide, but also highlights the importance of self harm support, challenging stigma and breaking down barriers and of course the need for further ongoing work in terms of managing risk with those individuals.
- Nearly a quarter (21 of 87) of carers who responded Yes & Unsure to Covid-related factors influencing the caring experience, reported an increased care intensity including additional pressure to manage self harm or manage mental health issues when relating to the pandemic without support that was previously available due to restrictions which brought about feelings of isolation. On top of this, what was already at times difficult in terms of providing care pre-pandemic, it was also reported that the pandemic exacerbated existing difficulties.
To see Karen’s session for yourself, along with our other incredible speakers listed below, sign up to our conference here: From Harm to Hope 2022