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Urge for practitioners to increase support around internet safety

Posted on: February 3rd, 2023 by Kieron Bradshaw No Comments

People who access support around suicide and self-harm are urging practitioners to have more conversations around online safety.

The plea follows a survey of over 80 people with lived experience carried out by Samaritans, which revealed that almost all respondents (94%) had never been asked by a practitioner about their online activity around these issues.

The survey respondents were all over 18 years old and had experience of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and self-harm.

Ahead of Safer Internet Day (Tuesday 7 February 2023) we are sharing some key themes taken from the feedback to help practitioners increase support around online activity relating to suicide and self-harm.

We are also highlighting training that is available to assist anybody who provides support around these issues, enabling you to have conversations about online safety.

Asking about online activity

Most respondents to the survey thought that practitioners should ask about online activity when talking about their self-harm or suicidal thoughts or feelings. They said that this could address stigma and make people feel more comfortable talking about their online activities. They felt that these questions could help the practitioner understand people’s suicide and self-harm risk and their support needs better.

 “If they didn’t ask me, I would never talk about my online use for fear they’d think it was weird or wouldn’t understand. By asking it would stop me feeling so embarrassed.”

It’s important to ask in the right way

A small number of respondents worried that these questions could be intrusive. They highlighted the importance of approaching these questions in a non-judgmental way. They said it was important to ask about online activity directly, but that building rapport first can sometimes help people feel comfortable opening up. They encouraged practitioners to make sure there’s plenty of time for the conversation, avoiding interruptions.

“Make sure there’s no judgment or shame in the reaction. Be very careful about getting them to stop. It has to be their decision if they’re going to give up viewing content.”

How practitioners can help people stay safe online

Respondents said that by asking people what they do online in relation to suicide and self-harm, practitioners could help people reflect on their online activity and how it makes them feel. They said that practitioners could help challenge harmful online behaviours and signpost to more supportive online spaces.

Guidance for practitioners on internet safety around suicide and self-harm

The majority of respondents (69%) were concerned that practitioners might have gaps in their knowledge around how people use the internet in relation to self-harm or suicide. They thought they might have negative preconceptions or assume that online issues only affect younger people.

“They think it is a negative thing but sometimes you can get good support from recovery communities… You just need to make sure you follow people who are positive influences and good for you.”

Respondents recommended that practitioners access regular training to stay up-to-date with the latest internet safety knowledge.

Access to training

Samaritans recently launched an elearning course on internet safety, suicide and self-harm in partnership with Health Education elearning for healthcare.

The training takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and gives an introduction to how to support people around their online activity relating to suicide and self-harm. The course is free to access and relevant to anyone providing ongoing care around suicide and self-harm.

Visit the elearning programme now and start these conversations today.

MindEd resources for teachers and education staff as pupils return to the classroom

Posted on: September 6th, 2021 by Louise Garrahan No Comments

Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh) and MindEd are inviting teachers and education staff to access 3 useful resources to support pupils as they return to school and college this September.

Adverse Childhood Experiences is designed to deliver key knowledge and skills development for teachers and other professionals in schools to support children who have been affected by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as domestic violence, abuse or neglect.

The module covers topics including:

  • The science behind ACEs
  • Building resilience for children affected by ACEs
  • General classroom management of children affected by ACEs

Suicide and Self-harm Prevention Skills for Schools aims to help teachers, social workers, volunteers and parents to better understand how to approach children and young people in difficult situations. The session offers skills building scenarios and supporting knowledge sessions to help learners:

  • talk to a young person who they suspect of harming themselves
  • know what to say that will be helpful
  • assess their safety and co-create safety plans
  • learn more about what helps and what can make things worse
  • learn what do if a young person has experienced a death by suicide
  • understand the overlap and differences between suicidal thinking and self-harm

Coronavirus Staff Resilience Tips supports teachers and education staff with useful tips on a variety of subjects during these challenging times, including:

  • Stress and trauma – this session explores the psychology of stress and trauma and what to do about it in children and young people.
  • Loss and bereavement – this session provides learners with advice and tips to help a child or young person who has lost a loved one during the pandemic or has faced loss in other forms, such as a loss of relationships through lack of play activities and feeling isolated from friends.

 

MindEd is a free educational and training resource for mental health support.  The variety of free resources aims to provide adults, across professions and organisations and including parents and carers, with the knowledge to support wellbeing, the understanding to identify young and older people at risk of a mental health condition and the confidence to act on their concern and, if needed, signpost to services that can help.

For more information about MindEd visit: https://www.minded.org.uk/.

New session added to Suicide and Self-harm Prevention module

Posted on: July 22nd, 2021 by Louise Garrahan No Comments

Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh) has added a new elearning session to its adult Suicide and Self-harm Prevention module within the MindEd programme.

The new session – Formulation and Working Across Agencies in Self-harm – helps learners understand the ways in which different mental health services can work together to support people with suicidal ideas.

The resource discusses the case of a young adult who presents to services with suicidal ideation and self-harm. The resource reviews the ways services may work together to manage risk and provide support.

Learners can work through this video-rich case study session on their own or in a face to face group setting. Additional materials are provided as downloadable PDFs to complement the resource. This includes learning points at key moments in the videos.

By the end of this session, which takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, learners will gain an understanding of features which may promote or hinder continuity of care between services, such as effective collaboration and sharing key information, and how this will impact positively or negatively on delivery of care.

The session is aimed at health and care professionals who, within their daily work, may encounter people feeling suicidal and/or self-harming, such as GPs, paramedics, emergency department colleagues, university mental health support staff, community mental health teams and social workers.

The latest session is the 6th and final session within the Suicide and Self-harm Prevention module, which is free to access.

For more information and to access the resource, visit the Formulation and Working Across Agencies in Self-harm session.

MindEd is a free educational and training resource for mental health support. The variety of free resources aims to provide adults, across professions and organisations and including parents and carers, with the knowledge to support wellbeing, the understanding to identify young and older people at risk of a mental health condition and the confidence to act on their concern and, if needed, signpost to services that can help.
For more information about MindEd visit: https://www.minded.org.uk/.

New session added to Suicide and Self-harm Prevention module

Posted on: May 19th, 2021 by Louise Garrahan No Comments

Health Education England elearning for healthcare (HEE elfh) has added a new elearning session to its adult Suicide and Self-harm Prevention module within the MindEd programme.

The session is aimed at health and care professionals who, within their daily work, may encounter people feeling suicidal, such as GPs, paramedics, emergency department colleagues and social workers. On completion of the resource, learners will:

  • consider how being in a suicidal crisis can make someone feel
  • understand what structured care for suicidality looks like and where it can be accessed
  • know what safety planning is and how to involve someone in their own safety plan
  • learn how to help someone who is feeling suicidal to complete a safety plan

The latest session complements 4 existing sessions within the Suicide and Self-harm Prevention module, which is also free to access. The final session on assessment and formulation will be available soon.

For more information and to access the session, visit the Structured Care and Safety Planning session.

MindEd is a free educational and training resource for mental health support.  The variety of free resources aims to provide adults, across professions and organisations and including parents and carers, with the knowledge to support wellbeing, the understanding to identify young and older people at risk of a mental health condition and the confidence to act on their concern and, if needed, signpost to services that can help.

For more information about MindEd visit: https://www.minded.org.uk/.

elfh is a NHS England programme in partnership with the NHS and professional bodies