Authors: Anna Leditschke & Tanya Blazewicz
Year: 2023
Event: 2023 The MHS conference - Adelaide
Subject: Thinking & Responding to Suicide Differently
Type of resource: Conference Presentations and Papers
Abstract: In 2020, the Lived Experience Leadership and Advocacy Network (LELAN) surveyed and interviewed more than 100 people with a lived experience of suicide distress or crisis – including those who had supported someone through suicide distress or crisis and those bereaved by suicide. From this, the Care not Treatment advocacy suite was formed, which includes a 38-minute documentary centring the wisdom of eleven people with lived and living experience. Based on what was heard, LELAN then began strong advocacy to bring the Alternatives to Suicide (Alt2Su) approach systematically to South Australia. Not only does this make groups available for people experiencing suicide distress and crisis, but it also demonstrates how the service eco-system can approach things differently by enabling peer-led, community-based initiatives to thrive. The Alternatives to Suicide Groups Charter defines the principles and values of support groups using the Alternatives to Suicide approach: Responsibility to – and not for or over; Consent and choice; Responses to injustice; and Healing in communities. Alternatives to Suicide, originally developed by the Wildflower Alliance, offer non-clinical spaces where people can be honest about their experiences without fear of forced treatment, other forms of coercion, or risk assessment that shuts conversation down. Alternatives to Suicide peer-led community-based groups centre mutual connection and meaning making around suicide distress, thoughts and experiences. Through the learnings from piloting Alt2Su in SA, LELAN has now developed training for people to learn how they can think about and respond differently in one-on-one situations with people experiencing suicide distress and crisis. Run by facilitators with a lived experience of suicide, this 1.5 introductory workshop will explore why peer-led alternatives are needed to respond to suicide, distress and crisis, and what those alternatives might look like. Participants will explore approaches to thinking about and responding to suicide differently. They will gain practical insights into what helps, what harms, and what could be done better to understand and support people through suicide distress and crisis. Whilst LELAN actively advocates for systems-level change in the mental health and social sectors, we know that connections and support at all levels are really important. Therefore, this workshop is aimed at people from across sectors and communities, including providers, peer workers, family, and friends - anyone who wants to learn skills to more effectively support other people in distress who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts. It is anticipated that participants will gain the following professional development and learning outcomes: • Knowledge of commonly held myths surrounding suicide • Knowledge of socio-political factors contributing to feelings of suicide distress or crisis • Knowledge of the role of trauma and how it contributes to feelings of suicide distress or crisis, as told by people with a lived experience • Clear examples of how to respond to people in crisis, including strategies for holding space and how to end difficult conversations Brief plan of how the time will be allocated/managed: Introduction - 10mins Small and large group discussion about commonly held myths surrounding suicide - 15mins Small and large group discussion about trauma, suicide & the mental health system - 15mins Introduction to a new approach to responding to suicide distress - 10mins Practical application of a different approach to responding to suicide distress - 30mins Final thoughts and conclusion - 10mins Learning Objective There are different ways to think about and respond to people experiencing suicide distress and crisis that are peer-led, non-clinical and uphold human rights The workshop provides practical insights on what helps, what harms, and what can be done better to understand and support people through suicide distress and crisis
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