Suicide Prevention Guidebook: How to Support Someone Who is Having Suicidal Feelings

by Joy Hibbins

Overview

In this comprehensive guidebook, Joy Hibbins (the founder of an award-winning Suicide Crisis Centre, which has attracted international attention) shares her invaluable experience of helping people through suicidal crisis.

Equally popular with the public and professionals, the book provides the reader with strategies and skills to help someone through a period of suicidal crisis.

Whether you have never helped someone in crisis before, or you already have an abundance of experience, this book is relevant for you.

The charity that Joy runs (Suicide Crisis) regularly provides suicide prevention training for the NHS, the British Transport Police and charities.

This book will show you how to:

• Understand the complexity of suicidal feelings and what may lead to a crisis
• Be aware of factors that can increase someone's risk of suicide
• Assess risk and directly ask someone about suicidal thoughts
• Build empathy and a strong connection with the individual in crisis
• Create a safety plan
• Learn strategies and skills to help someone survive (in the short-term and the longer term)
• Learn techniques to support someone who is experiencing intense distress – or conversely someone who is silent and withdrawn
• Create manageable steps to help someone survive
• Know what to say, including how to help someone see their own worth
• Understand why some people experience multiple crises and how to help them

All royalties donated to the charity Suicide Crisis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781837963799
Publisher:	Trigger Publishing
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	5.32(w) x 7.48(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

Joy Hibbins is the founder and chief executive of charity Suicide Crisis. Their crisis centre has attracted national and international interest because of its zero-suicide achievement: there has never been a suicide of a client under their care. Joy has given evidence about their work to a UK parliamentary select committee, and their work has fed into the Ministry of Health's new suicide prevention strategy in New Zealand.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Your Role in Helping Someone to Survive: What You Bring to This

Part 1 Understanding a Suicidal Crisis 7

1 Your Feelings About Suicide and First Reactions 9

Understanding and overcoming some of the feelings that you may have about suicide.

2 What We Mean By "Feeling Suicidal": The Complexity of Suicidal Feelings 17

Understanding how "feeling suicidal" is complex and individual, and that it includes different levels of risk.

3 Understanding What May Lead to a Suicidal Crisis 25

Looking at what can lead someone to feel suicidal, and how it is usually a combination of factors that makes someone more vulnerable to experiencing a suicidal crisis.

4 Myths and Misunderstandings About Suicide 39

Addressing some of the misinformation about suicide, and how it can create barriers to helping someone - and can make someone in crisis feel more reluctant to ask for help.

5 Risk Factors 55

An introduction to assessing suicide risk: Learning about factors that can increase someone's risk of suicide, and how to help someone who is displaying these risk factors.

6 Warning Signs 77

Warning signs to look out for, including signs that someone may be at immediate risk of suicide. The chapter includes advice on what to do if you notice these signs.

Part 2 How to Help 89

7 Asking About Suicidal Thoughts 91

A step-by-step guide to asking someone about suicidal thoughts, and how to get the right help for them.

8 Understanding, Empathizing and Connecting 101

An introduction to some basic counselling skills that can help you to understand more about what your friend or loved one is experiencing, and show them that you understand and empathize.

9 Beyond Words 111

How someone's body language and voice tone can give powerful messages about what they are feeling. How body language and voice tone can alert us to changes in mood, which may give cause for concern.

10 Barriers to Connecting 119

Barriers that can prevent us from connecting with someone who is feeling suicidal, and how to overcome them.

11 What to Focus On 131

What to say to someone who is feeling suicidal, including how to help them to see their own worth.

12 Kindness, Compassion and Care 143

How kindness and care can help someone to survive.

13 Helping Someone to Survive 151

Creating manageable steps to help someone to survive.

14 Supporting Someone Who is Highly Distressed 161

Techniques to help someone who is feeling intense distress.

15 Supporting Someone Through More Than One Crisis 169

The chapter looks at reasons why someone may experience more than one suicidal crisis, and how you can help.

16 Helping Someone to Create Their Own Care Plan and Safety Plan 179

How to help someone to create a personalized care plan (with strategies to help prevent their mental health from deteriorating) and a safety plan (to use when they are in a period of suicidal crisis).

17 Looking After Yourself 193

How to take care of your own mental health and wellbeing while you are supporting someone who is feeling suicidal.

18 Professional Help

How to access professional help, including accessing psychological treatments.

Epilogue 211

Thoughts on Why Clients Survive at Our Suicide Crisis Centre

Acknowledgements 221

Further Help and Resources 223

References 229

Editorial Reviews

'The generosity of Joy's knowledge and wisdom is so apparent and the gentle way in which it is shared ensures that no-one who reads this book will ever need to feel that they don't know what to do when their loved one or friend is needing support for suicidal thoughts. Joy captures answers to all of the questions most people probably don't even know they have, and there is an abundance of learning here that is readily and easily usable for both family, friends, colleagues or professionals working with people experiencing distress. Her respect and compassion for people in suicidal crisis is most telling. A fantastic contribution to international suicide prevention resources' — Sonja Eriksen, Trauma and Suicide Prevention Specialist, New Zealand

'The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook provides a helpful overview of risk factors and warning signs, and crucially what all of us can do to help someone experiencing suicidal thoughts. It is a welcome addition to the resources that are available to raise awareness of the impact of suicide and how it can be prevented' — Philippa Lowe, Chair, Rethink Mental Illness

'Joy's work has become my go-to place for sound ideas, wisdom and practical guidance on suicide prevention' — Professor David Mosse, The Alliance of Suicide Prevention Charities and Leadership Team, Support After Suicide Partnership

'I regularly hear from carers, friends and family that they feel ill-equipped to support their loved ones in their times of need and this book will fill this important gap by offering skills and understanding that can be applied widely' — Dr Deborah Dover, Deputy Medical Director, Consultant Psychiatrist and Suicide Prevention Lead at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey (London) Mental Health NHS Trust

From the Publisher