Connecting with People
Connecting with People is a series of training packages designed to complement the two day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). By engaging participants in the subject of suicide and self-harm, it can help people working a range of settings to see the benefit of investing further time in attending the two-day ASIST programme.
Overview:
Connecting with People is part of a comprehensive suite of training in suicide prevention being rolled out across Wales by Mind Cymru's Positive Choices Project. This training aims to increase empathy, reduce stigma and enhance participants' ability to talk to someone who has suicidal thoughts and equip them with simple distress reducing techniques.
The training is designed for individuals working both within and outside specialist services. In order to increase the relevance and impact of the training and hence increase its take up, different versions can be tailored to suit the requirements of different sectors.
Programme Objectives:
Two hour Suicide Awareness Training
- Create empathy and challenge stigma by helping participants develop their understanding of suicidal beahviour;
- Promote understanding of the ambivalence of suicidal individuals;
- Develop and empathic, therapeutic relationship in a demanding and time pressured environment;
- Introduce the user friendly Cole-King Continuum, a framework designed to demystify the process of talking about suicidal thoughts;
- Promote the role of professionals or carers in suicide prevention.
One day Suicide Response Training
- Support Primary Care/Specialist NHS Teams;
- Increase understanding and skills in order to contribute to a community based suicide prevention approach;
- Enhance skills of assessing and responding to suicidal thoughts;
- Improve ability to conduct an effective assessment and instigate a safe, clinically appropriate management plan;
- Promote realistic ways for dealing with very distressed suicidal individuals in a busy morning surgery/clinical setting/home visit. Simple installation of hope strategies using the Cole-King Bank of Hope;
- Make assessing individuals with suicidal thoughts more transparent by using the Cole-King Mitigation Framework, which promotes a collaborative assessment and response to an identified suicide risk. This approach is recommended in the the Department of Health National Risk Management Programme. Best Practice in Managing Risk. London: Department of Health; 2007.
