Learning with Lifeline

Suicide Intervention & Prevention two day & half day workshops

A reason to do this training

Sadly, the Northern Territory has the highest rate of suicide in the country, with people dying this way at more than double the national rate.  But it’s important to remember suicide doesn’t begin as a death: it begins as painful feelings and circumstances that sometimes give rise to suicidal thoughts and actions.  Suicidal thoughts affect as many as one in twenty people, and if we learn some skills, we’ll have an opportunity to intervene before those thoughts flow on to injuries or deaths.

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

a 2-day workshop

 In ASIST, the emphasis is on suicide ‘first aid’: helping a person with thoughts of suicide to stay safe and seek further help. The vast majority of people with suicidal thoughts will find some way to signal their distress and their intent to harm themselves. ASIST training can help us see and respond to these invitations to help. The training provides participants with the confidence to ask about suicide and know what action to take.  By learning to recognise and assess someone with thoughts of suicide, participants become more effective at helping people at risk.

Who attends the workshops?

The workshop is relevant for general community members, mental health workers, physicians and nurses, teachers and school support staff, counsellors, youth workers, domestic violence support workers, drug and alcohol workers, police and corrections staff, clergy, volunteers, telephone counsellors, tertiary students and accommodation workers.

How is the workshop presented?

The program uses a range of interactive techniques including case studies, simulations, skills practice, videos, overheads, workbooks and audiovisuals. Participants also receive the Suicide Intervention Handbook to reinforce learning.

Cost:  $195 incl GST for volunteers, individuals and not-for-profit organisations
            $255 incl GST for government and businesses

Time: 8.30am – 4.30pm each day. Lunch included.

Venue: TBA upon registration.

Next Workshop:

Alice Springs

19th & 20th June 2012     -    25th & 26th September 2012, 4th & 5th December 2012

Tennant Creek:

17th & 18th April 2012

safeTALK

a half-day workshop

The ‘safe’ of safeTALK stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’. The ‘TALK’ is about the fact that clear and open communication about suicide is one of the keys to preventing it.  The letters in TALK stand for the actions that help those with thoughts of suicide: Tell, Ask, Listen, and Keep-safe.

safeTALK is a half-day training program that teaches participants to be alert to suicide as a risk to people’s lives and responsive when they detect the risk arising. The skills taught in safeTALK are designed to give participants a short, clear process that anyone over the age of 15 can follow to become a ‘suicide alert helper’ in their own community.

How is the workshop presented?

As safeTALK trainers, we take participants through a safe and structured learning process.  Throughout the couple of hours, we gradually increase the participants’ exposure to ideas and practice. The program is designed to help participants see how misunderstandings and societal beliefs can cause otherwise caring and helpful people to miss, dismiss, or avoid suicide alerts.  To help them move past these barriers, we teach participants the ‘TALK’ steps and gradually lead them into safe practice.  To help show these steps in action, we select six very short video scenarios to use through the training.

Cost:   $65 incl GST for volunteers, individuals and not-for-profit organisations
             $80 incl GST for government and businesses

Next Workshop:

Alice Springs

26th April 2012 (This session is free to parents of school aged children)

Tennant Creek:

13th June 2012

The ‘Accidental Counsellor’ Workshop

a 2-day workshop

Accidental counsellors are people who may not have formal qualifications or counselling experience but find they are placed in a counselling role by accident, as a result of requests for help from friends, colleagues, clients or others. They want to help, but are unsure how to respond appropriately and may be confronted with a whole range of difficult dilemmas.

This workshop aims to provide non-counsellors with a range of skills to work effectively with  people who may be distressed, agitated or in crisis. It gives participants a practical framework for managing these issues, while achieving a sense of structure and confidence in their work.  Topics include Communication, Reflective Listening, Qualities of Effective Counsellors, Counselling Skills, Limit Setting and Boundaries, Dealing with Crisis (including suicidal ideation), Debriefing and Self Care. This course draws on Lifeline’s vast experience in crisis counselling.

Training is experiential and activity based, focusing on developing awareness and understanding as well as practical skills.

This workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to:

• Define attributes of an effective ‘Accidental Counsellor’
• Identify a range of counselling skills relevant to their role
• Practice a variety of communication skills including engagement, active listening and questioning
• Develop skills to respond appropriately to aggressive or distressed clients, and crisis situations
• Articulate clearly the boundaries of their own role with the client
• Identify a variety of self care strategies.

Duration: 2 full days

Cost :  $350incl GST for volunteers, individuals and not-for profit organizations                 

              $425 incl GST for government  and businesses

Participants who complete the training will receive a Lifeline Central Australia Certificate of Completion.

 Next Workshop:

Alice Springs

18th & 19th April 2012            13th & 14th June 2012

Tennant Creek:

Who to contact:

Karen Reval
Education & Training Manager

Phone: 08 8953 1250
Email: karen.lifelinent@bigpond.com

Lifeline Central Australia
PO Box 65 Alice Springs NT 0871
Phone: 08 8953 1250 Fax: 08 8953 3060