UK wide suicide prevention training for children piloted in Devon
Training new facilitators to help tackle suicides in young people was the theme of a recent workshop delivered by Lifeline Workshops Inc, developers of The ASK Workshop: Assessing for Suicide in Kids. This comes at the same time as the government announces more to be done to tackle mental health and suicide, including training for teachers, university staff and NHS staff.
The workshop was hosted by Action to Prevent Suicide CIC and aimed at training practitioners drawn from different sectors including teaching, children’s therapeutic work, suicide prevention and bereavement and mental health specialists, as well as people who have themselves experienced bereavement resulting from suicide.
The ASK Workshop teaches anyone who works with children:
- How children's death understanding is related to suicide risk.
- What research tells us about children's risk and protective factors.
- What information to gather to inform safety planning.
- How to use an evidence-based tool for suicide risk screening.
- How to organise what you know about a child to inform planning for immediate safety and longer-term support.
- How to overcome challenges to partner with parents and other helpers.
One of the participants said: “I am proud to be one of the first 11 trained facilitators in the UK to deliver the ASK programme to prevent suicide in children. A tough subject but it needs to be talked about.”
Chukumeka (Chukes) Maxwell , Founder and Chief Executive of Action to Prevent Suicide CIC said: “After more than two years of planning, we are honoured to bring this course to be delivered in the UK. We now have a suicide prevention course that can support those working, caring and parenting children and young people from ages 5-14. There are 11 talented facilitators to collaborate with, and they will be rolling out the training course throughout the UK from September 2019.”
For further information about the ASK Workshop. Please contact Action to Prevent Suicide CIC .
Email:Info@actiontopreventsuicide.org Website: www.actiontopreventsuicide.org
Chukumeka Maxwell is the Founder/CEO of Action to Prevent Suicide CIC
He is a fellow of The School for Social Entrepreneurs and HCPC registered Independent Social Worker & BASW Member
