Skills for Managing Self Harm and Suicide

Skills for managing self harm and suicide

Why Do People Self Harm? - Exploding The Myths -

Understanding the meaning of self harming behaviour is key to effectively helping clients to manage it. Such behaviour can be due to a wide range of factors, from stimulation through to suicidal intent. Equally, there are often factors distinguishing those who attempt suicide unsuccessfully and those that successfully complete it. This course enables delegates to identify the reasons as they apply to their own clients and to explode a number of myths surrounding the process of self harm.

Assessing Risk - And Reducing It

The course will provide delegates with essential tools for assessing the existence of self harm as well as the key risk factors associated with it.

• How likely is someone to self harm - and when ?
• What is the risk of a person killing themselves?
• What different methods of self-harm are there and
• what are their effects ?
• How can you reduce the risks of someone self harming?
• Working With People Who Self Harm

Delegates will learn a menu of strategies & approaches for working with different client groups as well as those who self harm for different reasons. A clear list of 'dos' and don'ts' will be identified in each instance. Individual worker and service responses to self-harm will be examined along with the latest work examining effectiveness. Case material will be used to provide delegates with clear illustration and the opportunity to deal with difficult and complex cases.

Ethical & Legal Issues

The field of self harm gives rise to a range of ethical and legal concerns which delegates will have a chance to explore and develop responses to. Issues addressed will include (amongst others):

• The worker's responsibilities
• The dilemma of ignoring ‘attention seeking' self harm
• The ethics of providing 'safe self harm' information

Course Outline:

09.45 Registration & refreshments
10.00 Introduction
10.10 Suicide & D.S.H. - The facts and figures
11.00 Assessing risk (1)
11.15 Refreshments
11.30 Assessing risk (2)
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Responses to DSH and suicide - reducing and managing risk (2)
15.15 Refreshments
15.30 Responses to D.S.H. and suicide - reducing and managing risk (2)
16.00 Ethical & emotional issues for those who work with people who want to kill or damage themselves
16.30 Finish