
By Yaj Buljeean (Harmless Trainer)
In 2021, there were upwards of 6000+ suicides in the UK alone. This is a staggering figure, and whilst conversations around mental health have increased, it’s clear that we are only scratching the surface of what people are living with.
But how do we tackle this? Within the latest suicide prevention strategy is outlined a number of actions that can be taken to help people at risk of suicide to get the support that they need.
The latest strategy mentioned, ‘suicide is everybody’s business. Everyone should feel they have the confidence and skills to play their part in preventing suicides – not just those who work in mental health and / or suicide prevention directly – and take action to prevent suicides within and outside of health settings’. I think this is a key point we can all work towards.
As part of this, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB have commissioned Harmless to deliver a range of Mental Health, Self Harm Awareness, Suicide Prevention and Suicide Bereavement training courses. The overall aim of these FREE courses is to help professionals and volunteers to feel confident in responding to, supporting and helping those at risk to access support services which best fit their needs. Training is delivered online via Zoom or MS Teams.
From looking at statistics and having group discussions with an emphasis on emotional safety, these are just some of the testimonials we have received:
Mental Health:
“Really good training. I really appreciated all the personal notes as well, I know it’s not always easy to talk about your own experiences in front of people (or initials on teams) so I appreciate it. It also showed your understanding more. I also appreciated all the references in the chat, I like having something to read. Thank you.”
Self Harm:
“Really informative. I particularly found the discussions on specific distraction techniques and practical support really beneficial, alongside what to say/how to respond to somebody who has just disclosed that they self harm.”
Suicide Prevention:
“Very refreshing training. From the presentation of information on the slides, the genuine engagement from the trainers (and their appropriate personal disclosures) to the interactivity levels, this was some of the best training I have attended in a long while. I feel like it improved my understanding and gave me some different strategies to use too. Thank you.”
Suicide Bereavement:
“I like the way these sessions are structured with the breakout chats and video/sound clips throughout. This enabled us to hear lived experiences and ideas which was incredibly helpful.”
If you are working / volunteering for an organisation / group who are based in Nottinghamshire and Bassetlaw you can qualify for a funded place.
We have the following dates available, just click the link which will take you to our Eventbrite page where you can book your free space:
Mental Health Awareness
Monday 27th November
Tuesday 12th December
Monday 8th January
Tuesday 16th January
Wednesday 24th January
Suicide Bereavement
Wednesday 28th February
Monday 18th March
Suicide Prevention
Tuesday 5th December
Wednesday 10th January
Thursday 18th January
Thursday 1st February
Self Harm Awareness
Monday 27th November
Wednesday 13th December
Thursday 11th January
Friday 19th January
Wednesday 24th January
Tuesday 6th February
We hope to see you there, and of course, if you have any questions, or need any help please contact our friendly training team using: training@harmless.org.uk