Self-harm and Suicide Awareness

One-day course This training day aims to enhance participants' comfort in discussing suicide and self-harm. The session will delve into common misconceptions surrounding self-harm and suicide, while establishing a working definition of self-harm. Participants will review various methods of self-harm, consider relevant statistics on both national and international levels, and investigate potential motivations behind self-harming behaviours. Key risk factors associated with self-harm will be emphasised, alongside an overview of the self-harm cycle. Participants will engage in activities that serve as safe alternatives to self-harm, and other physical exercises that can be shared with service users as healthier coping strategies. Participants will practice risk assessment and acquire a foundational understanding of harm reduction techniques aimed at ensuring the safety of service users. They will also learn self-care strategies that empower service users to manage their well-being while minimising self-inflicted harm. The training will address protective factors and outline effective planning strategies, including essential do's and don'ts for participants. The exploration of self-harm as a coping mechanism and suicide as a last resort will be a focal point, with discussions on the distinctions and overlaps between the two. Participants will identify signs of suicidal ideation and assess varying levels of risk—low, medium, and high—while considering stressors, life events, biological factors, and early childhood trauma. The psychological aspects that may lead individuals to view suicide as a viable option will be examined. Participants will learn to assess risks while incorporating protective factors and will explore safe planning methods to implement in practice.