‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ – a new online suicide prevention training programme
‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ a new, free, online suicide prevention training programme, was officially launched by Mary Butler, TD, Minister for Mental Health and Older Persons.
Developed by the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ is for everyone, especially for people who are supporting a loved one, working with others or those involved in their local communities. It helps participants to identify people who might be at risk of suicide, confidently ask about suicide, keep them safe, and connect them with resources that can help.
Speaking at the launch, Mary Butler, TD, Minister for Mental Health and Older Persons said:
"I warmly welcome the launch of ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’, a fantastic new, free, online suicide prevention training programme. Suicide is a major public health issue with far-reaching consequences for families, friends and communities. Everyone has a role to play in suicide reduction and this easily accessible resource will help many people develop the skills to talk comfortably about suicide, and support those in distress, as well as further dispel societal discomfort with speaking openly about this issue.
Let’s Talk About Suicide’ aligns with the goals of Connecting for Life, our national suicide reduction strategy, and its focus on stigma reduction, mental health promotion, and early intervention. As Minister for Mental Health and Older People, I welcome this new tool which will surely help us to achieve our objective of reducing suicide in Ireland.”
Damien McCallion, HSE Chief Operations Officer, said:
“The introduction of ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ marks an important milestone in the HSEs commitments in Connecting for Life, Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide (2015-2024), which include the development, coordination, quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation of a suite of suicide prevention education and training programmes in Ireland.
Read the full press release here.
About the programme
- On average, it will take 60 minutes to complete, but participants can work at their own pace.
- It is an introductory programme that is suitable for anyone over the age of 18.
- It is recommended that anyone recently bereaved wait 12 months before engaging in this type of suicide prevention training.
- Participants do not need to complete any training before ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide’ in fact, it is a helpful introduction to the topic for anyone considering attending more comprehensive training programmes in the future. These might include more advanced face-to-face programmes (such as safeTALK or ASIST) available from the HSE.
To access ‘Let’s Talk About Suicide,’ visit traininghub.nosp.ie. For more information visit www.nosp.ie/training or email training@nosp.ie.
