An Introduction to Suicide Awareness Final DRAFT Pam

An Introduction to

Suicide Awareness and

Exploring Suicidal Feelings

Part 1 – Suicide Awareness

Befrienders Worldwide, Level 3, 4‐8 Rodney Street, London, N1 9JH Telephone: 020 7841 8731 Mobile: 07528 595 113 | E‐mail: [email protected] | Web:http://www.befrienders.org

April 2013 Edition Befrienders Worldwide (c)

Suicide Awareness, April 2013 Page 2 of 9 This training material has been produced for the exclusive use of Befrienders Worldwide Centres

An introduction to Suicide Awareness and Exploring Suicidal

Feelings

Part 1 – Suicide Awareness

An Introduction to Suicide Awareness and Exploring Suicidal Feelings are two parts of this workshop. Depending on how your Centre builds its training programme, give some thought to how you present this workshop.

It is proposed the workshop should be run over two sessions, due to the intense subject matter and the possible feelings it may draw out from participants. This will enable the Centre to provide appropriate support and guidance for those attending each session.

Aims

• To take an honest look at volunteers’ own feelings towards suicide • To look at different and possibly difficult situations around suicide that volunteers may

encounter • To understand and identify the support required both practically and emotionally, when

supporting those with suicidal feelings

Objectives

• Volunteers will have a greater awareness of their own feelings towards suicide • Volunteers will feel more confident and comfortable in exploring suicidal feelings • Volunteers will have a clear understanding of how to seek support and of the volunteer

support structure in their Centre

Resources

Flip chart paper and pens Individual paper and pens Sets of cards (RESOURCE: 1) 1 set per 5 volunteers

Total length of workshop: 1 hour 30 minutes (approximately)

(you may need to be flexible with timings to take account of local needs and the needs of individuals)


Introduction

To die by suicide……………. to take one’s own life..........

The term ‘committing suicide’ is a phrase used frequently in society to describe this form of death. Understanding attitudes and feelings this raises in us all is important if a volunteer working in a suicide helpline service is to cope with emotions ‐ not only those of the caller but also their own.

This workshop is designed to raise awareness and an understanding of the initial impact that the expression of suicidal thoughts, the act of suicide and the subsequent aftermath has within a society. The idea that someone may choose to take his or her own life creates a profound sense of unease.

Suicide challenges the very core of our being and belief structures. It challenges the notion that all life is sacred and special. For example, in some countries within the Befrienders Worldwide network the acts of suicide and attempted suicide are seen as criminal acts and punishable under the law of the country in question.

(Note to Trainers: It is at this point that you should adjust the introduction to take account of national laws and your Centre’s operating environment)

As volunteers, the work you will be involved with focuses on callers’ innermost feelings, very often those of distress and despair and those which may lead to suicidal thoughts. It is therefore very important that along with developing listening skills that will enable you to support appropriately, you take time to look at the feelings it throws up for you as an individual.

First we shall look at what society’s attitude is toward the suicidal person and the act of suicide.

5 – 7 minutes


What does society feel about suicide?

Start: Establish that in this exercise they are going to look at feelings and attitudes towards suicide.

5 minutes

Get everyone into pairs

Ask each pair to think about and discuss:

• how does society view someone taking his/her own life? • what type of people may do this? • are certain suicides more acceptable than others for example?

(Note to Trainers: Certain suicides may be seen as more acceptable ‐ mental illness, depressed people, those in pain, those who feel they are a burden on their families, etc. If this does not readily come up, ask the group directly what they feel about this idea of ‘acceptable reasons’).

5 minutes

Feed back to the main group and flip chart the responses (this will be used after the next part of this exercise).

10 minutes

What are our views on suicide?

Start: Establish that the following part of the exercise is designed to focus on our individual views and thoughts about suicide. Often our own attitudes may block the path to others expressing their suicidal thoughts and feelings. Despite a reluctance to discuss suicide, scratch the surface and you’ll find we all hold very strong views ourselves.

5 minutes


Get everyone into different pairs from the previous exercise

Ask each pair to think about and discuss:

• what are your own views on suicide? • how do you feel about people who take their own life?

5 minutes

Feed back to the main group and flip chart the responses.

10 minutes

Start: Establish that you are now going to look at both the flip charts

Ask the group to stay in their last pair for this exercise

Looking at both flip charts and ask everyone to think about and discuss:

• any significant differences between ‘society’ and ‘personal views’ on suicide

• does this have an effect on the work you do as volunteers? • what happens (if anything) to the way in which you as a Centre offer

your service? • do any of the views expressed affect you personally in the way you are

able to offer support?

5 minutes

Feed back to the main group.

10 minutes

Being alert to signs of possible suicidal thoughts

Very often we fall into the trap of putting people in ‘boxes of convenience’

More often than not it is our way of containing something we are unsure of, fearful of or something just too close to home. We have a fairly good idea of our own coping strategies and therefore we slot everyone else into different sized boxes according to how severe or difficult we feel their problem is..........

This is not necessarily something we are conscious of doing. We all at times make judgements, and in so doing we miss‐read or miss‐hear the signals others give us.

Introduction of this exercise and getting into groups

5 – 7 minutes


Start: Establish that this session is about looking at different presenting situations and /or phrases a volunteer may encounter when supporting a caller.

Get into groups of 5 (Preferably sitting around a table)

Distribute a set of the Cards (RESOURCE: 1) to each group.

Ask a member of the group to deal out the cards to everyone. Allow a few moments for the group to look at the cards, then sort into what they individually feel to be in order of strongest to weakest pointers to possible suicidal feelings.

Next: Each group member in turn places their strongest (card) face up in the

middle of the table. As each card is placed down, the group has to agree whether it goes above or below the first card laid down. This continues round the group until the process is complete and each card has been laid.

(Note to Trainers: You may wish to change the sentences on the cards (RESOURCE: 1) to better suit the needs of your Centre, taking account of the more common phrases used locally).

Before Feedback each group should come to an agreement as to the final position of every card, allowing all group members the opportunity to voice their own thoughts and opinions.

15 minutes


Bring all the groups together and look at their conclusions. Pull out any major differences, discuss as a whole group.

(Note to Trainers: Any pattern of cards is acceptable, even a straight line, as the group may feel all the cards are of equal importance, as each is a pointer to possible suicidal feelings)

Generally:

• look at the way in which the cards have been placed • consider what are the main points of learning from the exercise

Remember, this exercise is about the way in which those who make contact send out signals, which may not necessarily be explicit to the way they are really feeling.

Our role is to clarify what is being said and not simply take things at face value, and to guard against ‘not hearing’ what is being said.

15 minutes


(RESOURCE: 1)

Handout ~ Cards to be cut up and prepared

(Make up appropriate packs according to numbers of attendees)

I’ve taken a couple of

overdoses in the past

My mother killed herself

I like my drink: it helps

me to cope

I never seem to stop

worrying ‐ and about

such unimportant things

Thank goodness I can go

and make a cup of tea

when I wake in the night

I have lost touch with so

many people

Doesn’t matter about

me, I’ll pick up on me

later I suppose

Everyone has had

enough of me going on

so...

Not sure anyone would

really notice I wasn’t

around


(RESOURCE: 1)

Blank Cards for you to make your own pointers to possible suicidal feelings

(Make up appropriate packs according to numbers of attendees)

Documents

An Introduction to Suicide Awareness Final DRAFT Pam