Suicide is perhaps the saddest cause of
death because it is often preventable. Every day more than a dozen
people kill themselves in the UK and the recent tragic suicides in
Bridgend makes intervention training seem ever more important.
Recently I attended a two-day Applied Suicide Intervention
Skills Training (ASIST) workshop run by Lewes and Wealden Mind,
which has delivered the course since 2003. Commissioned by
Southwark PCT as part of its suicide prevention strategy, the
training was free for voluntary and statutory sector staff.
Starting the course by establishing the core principles of the
ASIST approach, the trainers reassured participants that, although
suicide is an uncomfortable topic, the outlook of the course is
optimistic – with the belief that suicide is preventable and that
life is worth living. In small groups participants explored their
own attitudes towards suicide, enabling an understanding of the
impact that one’s own attitudes have on intervention.
Safe plans
Next, participants were given the
knowledge and skills to recognise risk and develop safe plans to
reduce the risk of suicide. Although there are often indicators
that someone intends taking their own life, this is not always the
case. But, having established those who intend to harm themselves,
there are ways to create safer environments through agreeing a safe
plan with the individual at risk.
On the second day, participants put into practice the model for
suicide intervention, developing their skills through observation
and supervised simulation experiences. One of the most important
things I took from this part of the course was the confidence to
broach the subject of suicide.
ASIST was
developed in Canada and some course participants were put off by
some of the terminology in the training materials. Others felt that
the course was not much more than a lightweight form of
counselling. But, overall, the course benefits from having a model
that has been developed over the past 20 years and been delivered
worldwide. Also notable was the high quality handbook and
audio-visuals. These give the course a more professional feel than
the photocopied notes and flip chart exercises that are the
mainstay of most voluntary sector courses.
Complementary to other models
There’s an inclusive feel to this course. Unlike some courses - I
once did a counselling course where the tutor spent most of the
time bad-mouthing other therapeutic models – the ASIST trainers
consider their model to be complementary to others, such as the
Samaritans helpline. They say this is a simple model that works,
and that it can be used alongside people’s existing professional
practice or religious beliefs.
The course is not intended to replace longer-term support. It is
considered to be “first aid” in a time of crisis, and acknowledges
support is needed from other professionals in the long term. At the
heart of the course is the belief that a small gesture of support
can be life-saving – that strong reasons for death can be
counterbalanced by the smallest reason for living. Support from
another may be the tipping point to carry on living.
However much it is in the news, suicide is seldom a water cooler
topic. And yet, in the past 10 years I’ve lost a family member, a
friend and a service user – all of whom took their own lives. It
takes courses like ASIST to bring people together to realise that
there is something we can do locally as individuals and as a
community. Having completed the course, I feel better able to
identify the risk of suicide and provide help.
What we should be doing is equipping everyone to learn these
skills and I’ve been urging colleagues to go on this course - even
those with the most hectic of work schedules. After all, what could
be more important than learning how to save a life?
Related article
Recognising the warning signs
Further information
Living Works
Samaritans
Suicide trends and geographical variations in
the United Kingdom, 1991–2004
Suicide in Southwark - A strategy for
prevention
Mark Drinkwater is a community worker in Southwark, south
London.