Commissioned by the Collaborative, Harmless CIC, the centre of excellence for self-harm and suicide prevention service in the UK, have delivered self-harm training to 178 people across Cheshire and Merseyside during the last few months.
Delivered virtually, some training was adult focussed, some was children and young people focussed, and some had a mixed focus of both. There was also a small number who completed an e-learning training module.
Self-harm is a high-risk factor for attempting suicide. Around half of people who complete suicide have self-harmed at some point in their lives, and of those who present to hospital with self-harm, one in 50 will die within the year.
The rate of self-harm in the UK population is rising, particularly among young people. At the same time, access to psychological services for people who self-harm is decreasing, with only around 40% able to get help through statutory services.
By addressing the issues that lead people to self-harm, the risk of suicide can be reduced.
Harmless CIC’s training is informed in line with best practice, their own clinical expertise and research on self-harm. They provide evidence-based and trauma-informed support to people who self-harm or are at high risk of suicide, and their friends and families, working to reduce stigma, isolation and distress which promotes health, hope and wellbeing. Their comprehensive bespoke training develops skills and services in the wider community helping to reduce the risk of self-harm and suicide via awareness raising, skills development, interventions, and emotional wellbeing support.
The training has been incredibly well received with the following just some of the feedback given…
“Information on evidence-based interventions. It was also helpful to hear the trainer’s experiences, and it’s really nice to see that someone with experience of self-harm has been able to do such a wonderful job of educating others and contributing towards improving the care of people who self-harm”.
“It was really interesting and engaging; it was delivered in a way which was easy to understand. I found it useful to think about self-harm in terms of understanding the motivation and function and matching coping skills appropriately. It made me consider how to approach and explore this with young people”.
“It was really interesting to think about the function of self-harm and the underlying emotions in order to suggest appropriate alternatives/ coping mechanisms to the children and young people we work with as this is something I had not considered before the training”.
“I have been on lots of self-harm training before and this was the best”.
“Really enjoyed the training, it was paced perfectly, and I really enjoyed the breakout rooms and the chance to discuss practice with other professionals. I highly recommend the training”.
“Excellent training, would definitely recommend to others. The tutor was brilliant, and coming from a lived experience perspective, gave so much more power to what she was talking about”
“Probably the best course I have ever been on. The course felt like it was designed and delivered with a practical and true to life knowledge of self-harm”.
To find out more about Harmless CIC, please visit: https://harmless.org.uk.