Postvention Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide (PABBS) ONE DAY Training

The ‘Postvention Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide’ (PABBS) Training is now CPD Accredited and aims to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of health and care professionals so that they can appropriately respond to and care for those bereaved or affected after a suicide. Providing this type of ‘postvention’ support after suicide is recognised internationally as a key aspect of suicide prevention.

PABBS training is the only evidence-based suicide bereavement postvention training internationally. It is based on direct research evidence, via a three-year study funded by the NHS National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This training has been evaluated at the University of Manchester and found to be both effective and highly rated/acceptable to a wide variety of health and care professionals. Professionals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds have attended PABBS training (e.g. GPs, mental health professionals, funeral directors, social workers, faith leaders, teachers, prison staff, housing association staff, military personnel).

This one-day highly interactive workshop is delivered by two facilitators with extensive knowledge and practical experience of working in the field of suicide prevention and postvention. (While the sessions are interactive, the training does not include any role-play).

Training days run throughout the year and can be booked directly. Suicide Bereavement UK also delivers PABBS training in-house for organisations that may wish to train discrete groups of professionals.

To view/download the PABBS leaflet   PABBS Leaflet

To register on PABBS training or to enquire about in-house PABBS training, please contact our admin:

Email: debbie.wilson@suicidebereavementuk.com
Tel: 01706 827359

Training materials to support learning include:

• a training manual and workbook to take away
• high-quality short videos highlighting issues in context (including good consultation practice)
• four academic articles (with plain language summaries) presenting findings from the PABBS study
• lecture slides

Mixed format delivery methods include:

• Taught sessions
• Films
• Group discussion
• Individual and group exercises

All activities aim to increase understanding, motivation, and stimulate discussion.

Dr McDonnell led the development of PABBS training at the University of Manchester. She has been personally bereaved by suicide and has specialised in suicide bereavement research for twenty years. In combination, the research team members who developed PABBS have extensive experience in: suicide bereavement research; suicide prevention; general practice; mental health nursing and health psychology. Several of the team have been bereaved by suicide and most are experienced suicide bereavement trainers.

The full research team comprises:

• Dr Sharon McDonnell, Managing Director of Suicide Bereavement UK and Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester
• Professor Nav Kapur, Professor of Psychiatry and Population Health, University of Manchester
• Professor Jenny Shaw, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Manchester
• Dr Lis Cordingley, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology, University of Manchester
• Professor Carolyn Chew Graham, Professor of General Practice Research, Keele University
• Barry McGale, Senior Suicide Bereavement Consultant and Trainer, Suicide Bereavement UK
• Shirley Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Co-Founder, If U Care Share Foundation

• PABBS training is the only ‘evidence-based’ suicide bereavement training internationally. ‘Evidence-based’ means that it was developed from a three-year research study (The PABBS Study), led by Dr Sharon McDonnell at the University of Manchester and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme (£243K total funding)
• It is the only ‘theory-based’ suicide bereavement training internationally. ‘Theory-based’ means that delivery of PABBS training is based on an existing training framework that supports learning
• The research that the training is based on (The PABBS Study) explored:
  • the experiences and needs of people bereaved by suicide
  • the experiences and needs of health professionals responsible for the care of people bereaved by suicide (i.e. GPs, mental health professionals and ambulance staff)
  • the best existing evidence about suicide bereavement support and policy/training materials
• Members of a self-help suicide bereavement group formed part of the training development advisory group
• PABBS training has been evaluated at the University of Manchester and found to be effective in improving the knowledge skills and confidence of a wide range of health and care professionals in responding to those bereaved by suicide. The evaluation also found that PABBS training was highly rated by a range of professionals. (Read the research article)
• The PABBS Study has produced four academic research articles
• NIHR continues to support the further development and delivery of PABBS training
• Dr McDonnell is leading the national roll-out of PABBS training.

PABBS training helps to address key objectives in the following key documents:

• Government, national and local suicide prevention strategies
• The NHS Long Term Plan (2019)
• NHS Staff and Learners Mental Wellbeing Commission NHS Health Education England (2019)
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2018) Suicide Prevention Guidelines in Community and Custodial Settings

Key documents that refer to PABBS training and research

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE, 2018) Suicide Prevention Guidelines in Community and Custodial Settings refers to Paper 1 from the PABBS Study This paper, which reports the experience of GPs about dealing with parents bereaved by suicide was cited as evidence in the NICE guideline, which aims to reduce suicide in the community and custodial settings. Dr Sharon McDonnell also provides an expert testimony in this document, including recommendations (pg 69)

Public Health England (PHE) & NHS Health Education England (2016) Mental Health Promotion and Prevention Training Programmes, includes PABBS training in its listing of suicide prevention training (pg 46)

PHE, 2016 A Guide for Providing a Suicide Bereavement Service (pg 14)