The document discusses suicide prevention and counselling for suicidal individuals. It provides information on myths surrounding suicide, assessing risk, crisis intervention plans, and negotiating safety with at-risk clients. It also addresses the shock, sadness, stigma and self-blame that often follows the suicide of a loved one. People may experience shock, anger, and PTSD after such an event. It's important to avoid judgment and understand that mental illness can affect anyone. Speaking openly about suicide can help reduce stigma in communities.

1. Suicide Is Every Body’s
Business
Suicide Prevention,
Education and Awareness
1(c) Copyright CTA 2008

2. IT WAS OVER FOR HIM ....
FOR ME, MY HUSBAND AND FOR
MY FAMILY ….
IT WAS JUST THE BEGINNING
(Quote from a mother whose son committed suicide)
2(c) Copyright CTA 2008

3. Counselling a Suicidal person
• Suicidal ideation includes both the
planning of a suicide as well as fleeting
thoughts about suicide
(c) Copyright CTA 2008 3

4. Myths and facts
• There are many myths surrounding suicidal
behaviours
• They can prevent a person getting help
• They can mask the seriousness of the
situation
• They can influence a wrong assessment
(c) Copyright CTA 2008 4

5. Suicide and the Law
• You are required by law to report to the relevant
authorities any details relating to a person who
intends to harm themselves
• There are no secrets when it comes to a suicidal
person. You can help a suicidal person but you
can’t help a dead person
• You cannot disclose to anyone, other than the
authorities, (this is a breach of confidentiality),
without permission from your client.
5

6. Interventions
• ASK DIRECTLY - do not be passive
• Use appropriate assertiveness
• Assess the risk – level of perturbation
6

7. Crisis Intervention Plan
• Remove the means - safeguard environment
• Negotiate safety - contract [next slide]
• Decrease Isolation - family, friends,
workmates
• Decrease anxiety - medication, relaxation
• Future links - goals
• Place in Hospital - controlled environment
7

8. Negotiate safety
• Ensure the client’s safety is established by
negotiating with them to not harm
themselves
• A “do no harm” contract is a very good way to
give your client a sense of hope that help is
happening
8

9. Assess the risks
• A Suicide Risk Assessment is a very good
indicator of your client’s risk level
• A Suicide Risk Assessment also helps you as
the counsellor to ask all the questions and to
gather information that might not flow from
your client with just conversation
9

10. Referral
• Do not hesitate to speak to your Supervisor or
refer your client on to a:
– More experienced Counsellor
– Psychologist
– Doctor
– Mental Health
• Know what’s available in your area
– Support groups
10

11. Suicide grief Counselling
• No matter if you have been waiting for the
inevitable or if the suicide of a loved one or
friend is out of the blue …..
you will be shocked
11(c) Copyright CTA 2008

12. Shock
• Suicide is of course a sudden death and as
with any sudden death it takes an enormous
toll on our capacity to cope with change
• Someone we care about is suddenly not alive
anymore …. and the implications of their
personal pain and distress prior to the event
sends shock waves throughout their personal
network of relatives, friends and associates
12(c) Copyright CTA 2008

13. Shock
• Shock can be exacerbated by what we see or
hear
• Sometimes what we see is horrific and so out
of the normal that it is hard to get the picture
out of our mind
• Sometimes what we hear conjures up pictures
in our mind that does the same
13(c) Copyright CTA 2008

14. Shock
• What happens in our bodies and minds
when a deep shock occurs?
• Body systems are jolted
• Flight/fight centre of the brain is activated
• Fragmentation of information occurs
• Pieces of information can get stuck
• E.g. words, pictures, feelings, body sensations,
tastes, smells
• We get stuck in the moment which disrupts our
whole system
14(c) Copyright CTA 2008

15. Shock
• The pathway of shock …..
• In some cases the shock reaction passes over
time and dissipates for people
• Individuals may find that they are sleepless,
can’t stop thinking about what has happened,
lose their appetite, weep, lose energy, etc for
a number of days, but start to piece things
together bit by bit and slowly return to
normal
15(c) Copyright CTA 2008

16. Shock
• In other cases – the shock
remains in the system and
someone may develop a
condition known as post
traumatic stress disorder
• The emergency ‘on’ switch is
left on and the person can’t
seem to turn it off
• If this occurs the early impact
of shock continues with
nightmares, flash backs, sense
of alarm or doom, stuck in the
moment … and getting worse
over time 16(c) Copyright CTA 2008

17. Shock
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD –
needs treatment by trained mental health
professionals.
• Treatments include:
• EMDR, Cognitive/Behavioural techniques,
body based therapies and drug therapy
• If you have never gotten over a suicide death
or know someone who hasn’t – then refer
them for expert help
17(c) Copyright CTA 2008

18. Shock and Anger
• Sometimes with the shock reaction comes anger.
Anger is usually a reaction that we hold which affirms
to us that we are worth something. When someone
we love or know dies and by their own hand we may
struggle with feelings of anger as the event can mean
to us at a subconscious level that we aren’t worth
much if the person does this to us or others
• Other times we are angry at people we feel should
have helped, or at God for letting it happen. Anger is
our psyche’s way of defending itself
18(c) Copyright CTA 2008

19. Sadness
• After shock and anger comes the inevitable
sadness. Suicide death brings with it a great
deal more sadness as it seems so senseless.
We feel sad for the victim of suicide and sad
for ourselves and their family
• Sadness seems too small a word to describe
the pain of loss – many feel devastated and
feel that they won’t ever be the same again.
They feel destroyed
19(c) Copyright CTA 2008

20. Sadness
• The what if’s of sadness make us sadder
• Missing the person makes us very sad
• This is natural of course. It is part of what we
have to do to adjust to our loss
• Sadness can be fast tracked however if we
have a way of thinking about the event which
brings us peace. Similarly negative thoughts
give us no real relief and keep the pain longer
20(c) Copyright CTA 2008

21. Sadness
• Unhelpful thoughts …..
• They are selfish to put us through this
• Other people don’t kill themselves – they
were weak
• That person drove them to it
• If only I knew or could get there in time
• There is no God or meaning in the universe for
this to happen
• How could they do this to me? Etc. 21(c) Copyright CTA 2008

22. Sadness
• Negative thoughts
come easily but
don’t really help us
• There is no RIGHT
way to think, but
here are some
thoughts that people
use to make their
sadness more
bearable 22(c) Copyright CTA 2008

23. Sadness
• He/she must not have been thinking straight
when they did this. (They weren’t in their
right mind)
(sudden mental illness is real e.g. stroke,
baby blues, hormonal change, mood
regulation centre in brain out of order)
23(c) Copyright CTA 2008

24. Sadness
• He/she couldn’t cope
anymore and needed
heaven (or a rest) earlier
(emotional regulation and
mood levels are different for
each of us – it is not a level
playing field, some have a
much harder job in life with
their emotions)
24(c) Copyright CTA 2008

25. Sadness
• He/she is being comforted now with peace
and love
(feeling powerless to help, but visualising
God doing it for us or so many at a funeral
sending love and kindness to the person)
25(c) Copyright CTA 2008

26. Sadness
• I will tell them off when I
get there and they will be
sorry at what they put me
through. We will
understand each other
then – we do already I
think.
(restoring the relationship
we couldn’t fix – or
bringing back our sense of
justice) 26(c) Copyright CTA 2008

27. Coping with the sadness
• Being with friends or kind people
• Finding ‘sense’ activities and taking time out
to appreciate the moment and our senses of
smell, hearing, sight, touch, taste
• Rocking– rhythm activities
• Hugging – holding soft things
• Balance of rest and activity
• Not blaming others for not understanding or
having unhelpful words … they can’t know
27(c) Copyright CTA 2008

28. Stigma
• There is still stigma
around suicide in our
communities
• There probably always
will be
• Some people judge
others
• Mostly we just judge
ourselves and imagine
what others may be
thinking or saying
28(c) Copyright CTA 2008

29. Stigma
• Religious Stigma – it used to be
thought that suicide was a sin and
that the person would go to hell
• Most religions now have an
understanding that many things can
be sin …. judging others for one, but
that when someone is so despairing
that they want to die – that they need
love not judgment …. we trust God
has a far better grasp on this than us
29(c) Copyright CTA 2008

30. Stigma
• Mental Illness Stigma – we used to think that if
there was something wrong with one member
of the family then the whole family must be
weird or uncaring
• We know now that 1 in 4 will experience some
form of mental illness in their life
• We know that some very wonderful, loved
people can commit suicide
• No family is exempt from this situation
30(c) Copyright CTA 2008

31. Stigma
• Societal stigma – it’s the death
we can’t speak of ….
• We need to speak of it
• We need to talk about our pain AND our
happiness in life
• Our children need to see us recover from
unhappiness and find happiness out of pain.
This gives them a real picture of life and a
great model for their own future
31(c) Copyright CTA 2008

32. Self Blame
• Self blame has to do with our need for reason
• We are rational and seek meaning in any event
• Immediately we receive the news about a
suicide we ask questions …. why did they do it,
was there anything I should have known or
done to prevent it, and then …. I should have, I
could have ….. Etc ….
• Parents particularly blame themselves however
any individual prone to taking responsibility for
others is in the personal firing line for blame!
32(c) Copyright CTA 2008

33. Self Blame
• Antidotes
• Events are always combinations of things ….
which have to do with random things,
including human responsibility …. suicide is an
action taken by a person …. they may not
have been in their right mind at the time,
however you did not do this to them. You
didn’t choose for this to happen, you didn’t
want it to ….. you are not to blame
33(c) Copyright CTA 2008

34. Blame
• To blame the person who killed themselves is
a natural desire as well
• After all they have caused untold people great
misery …. but to blame them is not helpful for
anybody
• We have to suspend blame and self
accusation for healing to occur
34(c) Copyright CTA 2008

35. Antidote to blame
• We ALL did the best we
could at the time as
limited human beings,
with limited resources,
with limited
understanding, with
limited capacity
• They did the best that
they could at the time as
well 35(c) Copyright CTA 2008

36. Blame
• If we can’t blame ourselves or
the person who committed
suicide …. God often gets the
blast from us …. we accept that
we are they were not perfect …
but for there to be a God, he is
supposed to be perfect, or the
universe has made a big mistake
…
• To take this course of thinking
begins to break down the safety
of our world for us
36(c) Copyright CTA 2008

37. Blame
• The world is not perfect
• We are not perfect
• Less than perfect things occur each day
• But the world is still a beautiful place - it has
both pain and beauty
• We can grow and learn. We can treasure the
good
37(c) Copyright CTA 2008

38. Blame
• In this way we keep ourselves from bitterness
towards others, our loved one, ourselves, life
and our God
• Bitterness serves no useful purpose … it shuts
us down and takes joy and hope from us ….
38(c) Copyright CTA 2008

39. There is hope for our life after a
suicide of someone we love
39(c) Copyright CTA 2008

40. Our world is a wonderful place of
new life
40(c) Copyright CTA 2008

41. Keeping our very best memories
close!
41(c) Copyright CTA 2008

42. Contacts in our community
• White Wreath Association
• Counselling organisations – Lifeline for 24 hr
talking or Calvary Careline
• Trauma Therapy – The Counsellors 47240016
42(c) Copyright CTA 2008