Suicide First Aid

SFA Trainer – National College of Suicide Prevention and Training

"Gaining the skills and confidence necessary to support someone
who may be considering taking their own life"

The work I do and have been doing for well over 30 years is all, in one way or another, focused on the aim of supporting people fulfil their potential. While some of those I’ve worked with have faced particular challenges which have made life especially challenging, others, although perhaps superficially in the case of some, appeared to have it all together. 

The silent struggle: When people feel there's no way out

There are occasions however, when regardless of what may seem to be the case, someone is in real pain. Life for them at this moment feels perhaps unbearable. They feel stuck in a situation from which there seems to be no escape. When to them perhaps, it can seem that the only way out is to take their own life.

Where does someone go when they feel this way? To whom do they talk? Perhaps they are able to build up the courage to approach their doctor or a therapist. But more often they remain silent, feeling guilty about their thoughts and feelings, believing that they are unworthy of help. Or, unable to see a way out of their situation themselves, they are unable to conceive of the possibility that there might just be a way through.

If then, for many of those contemplating suicide, taking the first step and asking for help is not seen as an option, who will start a conversation? Who will be brave enough to ask the question that can perhaps unlock the path to an alternative experience, one that leads to life rather than to potential death? 

Breaking the silence: How Suicide First Aid can save lives

This is where Suicide First Aid comes in. It’s skills-based training that provides a structured intervention, allowing each of us the capacity and the confidence to provide the initial support that can save a life.

Suicide is a challenging issue to think about. We might want to avoid it, finding it too big or upsetting for us to contemplate. We might worry that in the very act of raising the subject we might be putting ideas into someone’s head, encouraging them to take desperate action that they might otherwise not. Suicide First Aid addresses these issues and more. While we may find approaching the subject difficult, we also recognise the nagging feeling that’s left if we have concerns about someone’s welfare and do nothing. 

So, by engaging with Suicide First Aid training we can learn to manage our own fears and anxieties, so that we can provide the initial help and support that someone contemplating suicide may need. The training gives us the security of a proven process, a structure we can use as a framework that can provide both ourselves and the other person with a belief in their capacity to move forwards. It provides us with the confidence to act on our concerns, and the skills to help keep the other person safe for now. It helps us to understand that while what we are doing is of vital importance, we are not alone in providing support. We are, just as a physical first aider, providing immediate support until professional help can take over.

Being trained in Suicide First Aid won’t entitle you to put your pants on outside of your trousers so that you can be constantly flying to the rescue. It will however put you in a better position to support those around you. It will give you the capacity to be a better friend, a better, parent, brother or sister, a better co-worker or neighbour. The issue of suicide is for too many of us still a taboo. The more we can openly address it, the more unnecessary suffering we can eliminate and the more lives we will be able to save.

Please take a look at the following brief videos. They provide more information about Suicide First Aid training and the “Tonbridge 200” programme of at cost training for people in my local community.

And please contact me if you would like to explore the possibility of scheduling a course for you.