4MH Community Suicide Awareness Training

Aims and target audience

Target audience:

All persons aged 16 years and above. No previous training needed

Aims:

Promotes a role for ALL in suicide prevention.

To equip participants to be able to make their own Safety Plan

• Understand myths, stigma and barriers and ways to overcome them
• Know more about suicide prevention
• Understand the Watercourse analogy to better understand distress
• Understand the importance of compassion
• Be able to talk to someone in distress
• Know how to make a Safety Plan using StayingSafe.net

Learning outcomes

• Develops understanding and compassion
• Tackles myths, stigma and barriers
• Introduces concept that suicide is not inevitable – people can be helped, and module includes the latest research and evidence
• Better understand how distress develops and how people can be best supported
• Develops common language between community, services and those in distress
• Gives participants the confidence and the skills practice of talking to someone in distress
• Develops a compassionate approach for demanding and time-pressured environments
• Equips participants with the knowledge of how to use www.StayingSafe.net to make their own Safety Plan

Delivery methods and styles

• Comprehensive and extremely robust safety protocol for trainer and participant safety
• Training material: coproduced by people with lived-experience, few slides and mainly images
• Workbook provided for use during training for solo/group work and post-training booklet to consolidate new learning
• Training experience: immersive, supportive and values based
• Training style: uses story-telling, analogy and facilitated discussions
• Not diagnosis driven so accessible and inclusive,
• Webinar Training involves trainers with additional skills training to ensure impactful, smooth and safe delivery
• Strict participant numbers to enhance learning and psychological safety

Knowledge and skills required of the trainers

Appropriate work/professional qualifications and/or lived-experience for peer credibility, subject area knowledge and confidence for onward delivery to the target audience.

Flexibility within work schedules, and/or employer/ line manager support to commit time to onward deliver the training

Involvement of people with lived experience

Training co-produced with experts by experience, including additional peer review by members of 4 Mental Health lived experience Expert Reference Group

4 Mental Health’s Lived Experience Expert Reference Group (ERG): “4 Mental Health recognises the essential nature and unique value that lived experience contributions and involvement bring to their work. As members of the 4 Mental Health ERG we feel that everything 4 Mental Health produces is coproduced with us and that our opinions are truly valued and respected. By recognising lived experience in this way, we feel assured that the content of their training is fit for purpose and the best it can possibly be.”

Assessment, CPD credits, certification

Attendance certificate provided confirming course attended and time spent which can be used towards annual CPD requirements, according to local CPD governance arrangements

4 Mental Health have successfully achieved accreditation with the first national suicide prevention accreditation program, with standards defined by Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA), Australia’s leading suicide prevention body. focus on lived experience, safety and governance and our commitment to continuing quality improvement. Our training has also won several national awards.