WORKING towards a standard approach to suicide among clinicians throughout the region, Lifeline South East recently hosted the first ever SA Health Connecting with People workshop in the region.
An internationally recognised training program developed in the United Kingdom in 2010, Connecting with People aims to provide people with appropriate tools and knowledge to help those suffering with mental illness and suicidal thoughts.
Following the guidelines outlined in the recently released South Australian Suicide Prevention Plan 2017-2021, Lifeline South East chief executive officer Eve Barratt said the Mount Gambier and District Suicide Prevention Network welcomed the opportunity to facilitate the workshop.
“The plan was only rolled out a couple of months ago and when I contacted them I thought it would maybe happen next year – it is fantastic that it is already happening,” she said.
“The response was amazing with many local clinicians, private practitioners and front line workers such as Headspace taking part in Friday’s workshop.
“They were trained in the same skills and the same language, which will reduce miscommunication and the likelihood of people falling into gaps.”
The workshop, which has been made possible with the help of Mount Gambier City Council, was run by the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist (OCP) and included two separate modules.
“At the heart of this approach is a paradigm shift in thinking about suicide,” Ms Barratt said.
“It is based on international best practice and believes that just as people with conditions such as diabetes or hypertension can be empowered to manage their condition, so too can people gain knowledge and controls over suicidal thoughts and impulses.”
At the end of the training session, participants are now able to use clinical resources to enhance their assessment and safe triage of a suicidal individual.
They are also able to create a comprehensive, person-centred bio-psycho-social suicide mitigation plan, collaboratively engage in a comprehensive social support mapping exercise and be able to help their patients develop strategies to increase their resilience to suicidal thoughts.
Eager to support the workshop, Mount Gambier City Council wellbeing general manager community Barbara Cernovskis said it was important to support practitioners in the community with the training.
“It is about the community responding to what is a community issue,” she said.
“It cannot be ignored, we need to talk about it and reduce that stigma – it is something that touches everyone.”
Although this session is targeted at clinicians, Ms Barratt said the network will bring further Connecting with People workshops to the region for non-clinical staff and community members.
“We all need to be talking in the same language about suicide,” she said.
“Everybody has a role to play, it is not someone else’s business, for too long we have thought anyone with suicidal thoughts or depression needed to be fixed and they had to do it, but we are the ‘they’ – we are the ones that can help – the stigma stops with each one of us.”
Lifeline’s 24/7 crisis support or suicide prevention services are available on 131 114.
