Charities and CIC's

“Compassionately delivered, honest, informative and thought provoking training. It was great to have up to date research findings. Case study and small group work really brought thinking around supporting people to life. Lots of really useful resources and information that I can use in my role, to share with colleagues and the wider team.”

As someone bereaved by suicide, it really was heart-warming to see such thorough training on suicide bereavement, but also for it to be led by people who understand the impact this type of bereavement can have on a variety of different people. The training has inspired me to read more around postvention work/research, self care for professionals and suicide in different populations. It has encouraged me to continue what I am doing, tweaking some practice here and there, and pushing for positive change. I would recommend the training for any organisations that want to support their employees or clients. For anyone who is worried that the training may be upsetting or triggering for them – I had the same worry, but once there, felt heard, understood and in safe hands.

“PABBS training is professionally produced and presented. The trainers had a good level of understanding and experience, and the supporting  materials complemented the training well. While the course is aimed at GPs, I would recommend it to anyone who may come into contact with people who have been bereaved by suicide in the course of their work”

“I felt that the trainers knew and understood their subject very well and sharing the personal experiences was beneficial to understanding the sensitive nature of the training. I realised how vital GP work is to people, and what a difference they can make to some ones support and care after losing someone to suicide. Suicide is a very difficult and emotive subject to train people about and involves a lot of thoughtful preparation around how to support people who work with it and have a lot of connections to suicide including personal experience of suicide”

“Attending training can be a worrying issue when everyone is so busy and giving up a full day needs to be worthwhile. The PABBS training was very worthwhile, the best use of a full day out of work in a very long time. Both trainers are skilled at delivering the information required, but more importantly showed warmth and used humour to connect to the group. Thank you both, I felt I learned lots and now feel more confident to put that learning into practice”

As a community worker often left to deal with very difficult after effects of a Suicide and feeling extremely scared to find the right approach to support a community, I found the PABBS training extremely helpful. It provided me with a much better insight as to how individuals process grief and the complications it brings for families and communities.

This training provided me with the confidence and skills to support those bereaved by suicide, and helped me gain a much better understanding of those bereaved. 

“PABBS training is professionally produced and presented. The trainers had a good level of understanding and experience, and the supporting  materials complemented the training well. While the course is aimed at GPs, I would recommend it to anyone who may come into contact with people who have been bereaved by suicide in the course of their work”.

‘I just wanted to say a massive thank you to your colleagues for an amazing day of training last week in Manchester. Just utterly fantastic all round. I am so inspired and fired up with ways to enhance our service delivery!

You’re all excellent human beings!’

I felt the day was very well organised thorough postvention training.  Opportunities to question, excellent advice and resources to take away and signposting to access more.  Sharon & Angela are very personable and honest creating a very open forum for everyone to join in discussion and share experience in a confidential environment. 

I felt very safe with the COVID measures that were put in place for the day.

Thank you so much for a worthwhile day – if only, we could put ourselves out of business…………….

Thank you so much for coming to Penrith today and giving us the benefit of your extensive knowledge and expertise. Such a worthwhile day and real opportunity to reflect on our practice supporting those experiencing the tragedy of bereavement by suicide.

“PABBS training delivers the knowledge needed to engage effectively with people bereaved by suicide. The aftermath is often devastating and far reaching so knowing what support to consider is a must.”

There were no issues for me with the COVID-19 arrangements.

Training was exceptionally well delivered, engaging and inspirational. Speakers were very personable and anecdotal which brought the science and data to life.

Covid guidelines were followed to the letter and the venues expectations and requirements were expressed in a friendly and encouraging way. Which reinforced a sense of inclusion and safety.

The PABBS training was not only perfectly structured and highly informative but also gave me practical knowledge in understanding and communicating with those bereaved by suicide – all supported with valuable and current research. Although, considered a highly emotive and taboo subject, both Sharon and Andrea approached us as learners sensitively, with consideration of our own experiences in mind and I left feeling inspired by the team. A highly recommended training to anyone working with those affected or bereaved by suicide.

The COVID-19 protocols were well thought out and executed. I felt very comfortable wearing a mask whilst moving around the room and not when sat at the desk. The only minor improvement I can suggest is providing hand sanitisers at each desk. Although, I appreciate hand sanitisers were available at the entrance and they come at a cost. Overall, I felt safe!

Thank you again for a great day and I look forward to the online suicide bereavement conference.

‘I found attending the day long PABBS course was the most beneficial training I have received with regards to supporting people bereaved by suicide. I felt it covered every aspect informatively and sensitively. I now feel confident in being able to fully support my clients but I have also learnt the importance of self care, enabling me to continue to care for others.’

‘It is a rare opportunity to be in a room full of other professionals in the field of suicide bereavement who are then given the time to share their experiences.’

In relation to Covid guidelines, My impression was that it was handled very professionally. I felt safe throughout and at no point did I feel that the measures in place were either over stretched or lacking.

The delivery and session content was excellent. Also much credit to you both for the natural manner in which you motivated and stimulated the attendees to provide their respective feedback, I would thoroughly recommend this course to all who are involved in suicide prevention and support. I believe support being the key word and so crucially important when families and friends find themselves tragically and traumatically bereaved when a loved one has taken their life. I had not fully realised how vital that first contact is when families are devastated by suicide, now I can adapt my role from counselling to one of support in such tragic situations. The counselling aspect can be offered further down the line should the bereaved need such, as Barry sublimely pointed out it’s not counselling these bereaved people are looking for, it’s someone to show them the way………. in other words ’a sat-nav’.

This marvellous training needs to be rolled out to support organisations like Cruse (National) who can then adapt their policies and procedures then filter this down to their respective regions accordingly. It’s a case of identifying the extent of support needs instead of focussing on counselling and trying to ‘fix’ traumatised individuals, Cruse has so many willing and experienced ‘foot soldiers’ to tackle suicide bereavement from a more practical perspective. 

The PABBS Suicide Bereavement Training  was really informative and very useful for working practice. The facilitators were friendly, approachable and knowledgeable and it was a comprehensive and very engaging.

It was the first in-person training post-COVID and I felt extremely safe due to the protocols put in place by the Suicide Bereavement UK team and the venue itself.

Highly recommended and a very enjoyable day – thank you.

Huge thank you to Barry McGale, Dr Sharon McDonnell, Suicide Bereavement UK & Angela Samata for delivering such a fantastic course, can highly recommend – it will certainly help me to help my clients to build resilience and instill hope.