Session for staff to raise awareness around suicide prevention
This year's World Mental Health Day on Thursday 10 October had a theme of suicide prevention. On Thursday, Yvonne McPartland, Deputy Head of the Staff Counselling Centre, delivered a session on suicide prevention for staff in Cambridge. The shocking reality is that suicide is the most common cause of death in men aged under 50 and the suicide rate is currently increasing after many years of decline. This equates to more than 6,000 deaths by suicide annually in the UK and Ireland.
The session was designed to give staff the confidence to challenge the taboo around suicide that makes it such a difficult subject to broach, with colleagues, family members, friends and even total strangers: what is it OK to say, what should I be looking for and what should I do next? The session was aimed at increasing awareness around suicide, dispelling some myths and sharing some lessons from experience at the Staff Counselling Centre. It also reminded staff what the centre can offer them. The message was that having a conversation could really save a life.