What is Barnet’s Real Talk – Conversations that save lives?

Real Talk- Conversations that save lives, is a highly participatory workshop offering an opportunity for people in Barnet to gain the skills and confidence in talking about suicide and providing some support and signposting to someone at risk.

This 3.5h workshop teaches a foundational model of suicide awareness designed for use in community or workplace settings.

The course is interactive, empowering, optimistic, accessible, simple, emotionally

engaging and sensitive, as well as authentic to people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts.

Who is it for?

The course is aimed at Barnet professionals and volunteers, especially those working in public facing and/or support services. For these professionals and volunteers, the course might be the first step towards more comprehensive training.

Many people with thoughts of suicide do not seek the help of professionals, however. So, the course is also suitable for anyone in Barnet who is willing to help, including parents, carers and community members.

What are the learning objectives?

By the end of this session, facilitated to encourage a safe and effective learning environment, participants will be able to:

· Recall the suicide statistics and reflect on their relevance to the community

· Describe potential risk factors and signs that someone might be having suicidal thoughts.

· Identify the barriers that might prevent any of us from talking openly about suicide.

· Outline appropriate questioning techniques to facilitate a conversation with a person at risk.

· Demonstrate a supportive conversation with someone who is having suicidal thoughts,

· including via the written word.

· Determine appropriate levels of support - emergency services or support organisations, apps

· Use a safety planning tool and list further sources of help/support with a scenario

· Select appropriate strategies for promoting own wellbeing

· Access support resources.

Feedback

“This course is deeply insightful, informative, engaging and thought provoking. The structure of the workshop meant that there was opportunity for discussion and feedback. The slides, activities and the interactive film have given me the confidence and tools to really help our many service users at risk of suicide”

“What a compassionate and enlightening course! I found the practice of asking a person if they were considering suicide really powerful and the interactive film too. The trainer made it very safe. I now feel much more confident at being able to broach the subject and ask the direct question now about are you feeling suicidal. I have always skirted round this issue in the past.”

N.B.

We know that suicide can be a difficult topic and recommend you set aside time for self-care and reflection before and after the session. We won’t ask you to share personal experiences, though the training may bring up things for you that relate to your own life, or that are uncomfortable. We welcome letting someone know you are attending the course and to nominate a person you can talk to, should you find any aspect of the training distressing.

You can find an extensive list of support resources our StayAlive app, available for you or anyone you are worried about: www.stayalive.app/find-help-now

If you have been closely affected by any of these issues or feel that this may be challenging at this time, we would invite you to consider your relationship to the topic and give us a call before booking your place.

Real Talk: Conversations that save lives - Barnet