Anyone can have thoughts of suicide. Everyone can learn to help.

Training forms a significant part of the Choose Life National Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Scotland.

Many people who are feeling suicidal signal their intent, whether it be verbally or through behavioural change. Therefore, the more people who feel confident and willing to explore possible signs of suicide risk and provide support and help, the more lives could be saved.

Often people do not want to intervene for fear of making someone’s situation worse. They are afraid to say the wrong thing or the stigma attached to suicide means they avoid, ignore or do not recognise the signs of suicidal thoughts. We need to lift the taboo and talk about suicide as a serious community issue then reach out as widely as possible to get people involved in suicide prevention. This is where training forms a vital role.

Awareness needs to be raised within all sections of the community and as broad a range of people possible given the necessary skills and confidence to reach out to someone who needs help. Suicide can affect any one of us and it is our responsibility to find ways to make suicide-safer communities.

Suicide Prevention Training Programmes

Choose Life offer a range of suicide prevention training programmes from awareness and exploration to suicide first aid skills training. The programmes have been developed and disseminated by reputable training providers and are robustly evaluated.

SuicideTALK is a short exploration and awareness session and invites participants to discuss "Should we talk about suicide?" safeTALK will help you recognise individuals who are having thoughts of suicide and help to keep them safe for a temporary period until they can be connected to an intervention resource. ASIST is an intervention training course and will enable an intervention to be carried out to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. Both safeTALK and ASIST are intended for all sections of the community.  STORM  is  an intervention training package and is intended for frontline workers in health, social and criminal justice services. 

More than 21,000 people in Scotland from a wide range of sectors including, voluntary, social work, educational, mental health agencies and NHS have been trained in suicide alertness and intervention skills.  This has been made possible by a network of over 500 suicide prevention trainers who deliver training across all sectors of the community within each local authority. Trainers organise the courses independently and participants can register for courses by contacting them directly.  If you would like to find a course near you please visit In Your Area and  Calendar of Events.

Choose Life also organises Training for Trainers courses for safeTALK,  ASIST and STORM and courses are running throughout 2009/10.

If you have any further queries Choose Life Training can be contacted on training@chooselife.net

Other Training

As part of the Choose Life Local Action Plans, a range of training is being developed and implemented to meet local needs. This includes training around Self Harm; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy; Emotional Literacy and a range of others. To see a full scope of training activity, please visit the Local Action Plans section and search using the keyword 'training'.

Please also visit the Health Scotland website for other Health Scotland supported courses.

Delivering for Mental Health

As part of Delivering for Mental Health plan (2006),  Commitment 7  was made by the Scottish Government for training key NHS staff groups in using suicide assessment tools/suicide prevention training programmes. HEAT targets (Health Efficiency Access and Treatment) are a core set of Ministerial objectives, targets and measures for the NHS.

HEAT 5 commits to "Reduce the suicide rate between 2002 and 2013 by 20%, supported by 50% of key front line staff in mental health and substance misuse services, primary care and accident and emergency being educated and trained in using suicide assessment tools/suicide prevention training programmes by 2010." 

The target aims to increase the number of people being trained in suicide prevention skills, and will ensure that people most likely to be in contact with those feeling suicidal will be trained in the necessary skills to help.

If you are feeling suicidal or suspect that someone you know is considering suicide, contact Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (24 hours), Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87 (Mon-Thurs (6pm-2am; weekends Fri 6pm-Mon 6am) or ChildLine on 0800 11 11.