Mental Health Professionals

As both a practitioner and a person who has lost someone to suicide, I really valued the session on the language to use around suicide with Angela. I think mental health professionals can often struggle with discomfort and preconceptions when we talk about suicide. I felt the session really empowered me to be direct in the language I use, but also helped me to understand that this can be done in a sensitive way that opens up helpful discussions. I also felt it provided some really useful thinking around the importance of considering the implications of the language we use when talking about suicide in the media. I’m planning to feed back the session to my team and would recommend it to anyone working in a service where suicide is often discussed.

As a Mental Health First Aider/support worker i was inspired by the trainers knowledge and  research. Their first hand experience in supporting those affected personally and professionally, was expressed in the training and reconfirmed that this is an important area to develop my knowledge in . Highly recommend.

PABBS facilitators attended my workplace and delivered a workshop for our Family Liaison Practitioners.  The facilitators presented some information that was entirely new to me, enabled me to examine my approach to speaking to and listening to families and how to look after myself.  The presentation was more a conversation and that was appreciated by the whole group.  The subject was handled very sensitively, with passion and compassion.  The course contents were entirely relevant and the resources are of a very high standard.  I’m really pleased that I and the team undertook this training, and it would come with my recommendation.

Thanks to PABBS, I am now accompanied by over seven and a half thousand voices that have been bereaved by suicide, and when I do the work that I do, that is a comfort to me. My training day with PABBS gave me insights I did not have, and resources I can draw upon, making me a better resource for the people I support. In the short time since the training I can tell you that those 7500 voices have already been heard by a university welfare team, dozens of bereavement volunteers and a collection of people who have found themselves in the club no one wanted to be in. But once you find yourself in that club, you realise you are desperately searching to connect with other members, so you can be heard and hear. I would recommend the training, for the knowledge, the opportunity to meet amazing facilitators, and the amazing attendees, who by association, are also members of that club. We all need to embrace that elephant and PABBS has given me the confidence and validation to do just that.

I attended the course with some apprehension, it’s a very relaxed environment and humour and appreciation for one another story is very pertinent to your own understanding of suicide and bereavement. It was also purposeful to connect to others on the course who have a lived experience of suicide that may shape how you deal with or manage future families that you may support in your role or profession. It would be good for me as an NHS professional to understand the journey of grief after suicide and I hope this would be explored further on the day. But appreciating one day is a short window to experience or develop such skills or at least have confidence in your acquisition. The resources that were given were good and already embedded them in my own workstream to support families and shared these amongst other colleagues. How we look after ourselves is very pertinent to our own resilience and something I need to develop-That was one thing I took away as a personal task. 

Angela and Yinka are a real credit to your organisation and the work you all do, thank you so much for one of the best training courses in this field of work.

I just wanted to say what an amazing day Angela and Yinka gave us.  The Major Incident Response Team volunteers provide the county’s primary postvention service and to be able to receive this valuable training really added to building their confidence in being able to sit with, and have compassionate conversations with those bereaved.  The course delivery is very informative and engaging with just the right balance of education and conversation.  Seeing the reality of data really brought the subject home to the volunteers and hopefully if they didn’t already know it they do now, the important role they play in quickly supporting those bereaved.  The volunteers have been emailing me to say how much they loved Angela and Yinka and that whilst they have done lots of training courses, this one will stay will them for many reasons. 

Attending PABBS has made me more aware of my own needs and the needs of others during the bereavement process. The course is thought provoking and very emotive, delivered by amazing people. The PABBS training has made me more confident in supporting those bereaved by suicide.

‘I found the PABBS Training to be very informative.  The trainers were excellent in their presentation of information throughout the day and there was plenty of opportunity for discussion. The training highlighted the impact of suicide on both those bereaved and the wider impact on others e.g. friends, work colleagues, health professions, emergency responders etc. I would certainly recommend this training to those working in mental health.  So much to take away and consider’.

‘This training is essential for those supporting individuals through such difficult times. I learnt so much, and feel so much more confident to use the tools  in my practice’.

‘Having worked within Primary Care for many years and it was so valuable to be able to attend the PABBs training. Within my role I am often the first contact for patients who have been bereaved by suicide. The training has increased my confidence in being able to signpost appropriately and provide the right information to patients needing support. I would highly recommend this training for Primary Care Teams’.

‘I found the training to be so valuable and so necessary.  Its a rare thing to be in a space where we as professionals can unpack the complexity of suicide and its impact on individuals and society at large. To be together as we wade through opinions, biases, fears and hopes in a mutually supportive and held training. What I found to be most powerful was the emphasis on raw and current statistics around suicide, and how sharing the personal impact of that data makes it more likely that we become agents of change. The training gave everyone space to speak from both  a personal and professional perspective about the impact of suicide ,  and to speak from the heart in a safe and compassion centred context’.

” I was very reassured by the professionalism behind the PABBS training delivered recently to a multiagency audience in Powys. It was a very clear, interesting and timely presentation and provided safe opportunities for small group discussion. Our goal is to ensure greater awareness of this area within our School Service, and that every school has a postvention protocol to follow when necessary.”

I found the training to be very comprehensive and well delivered. For a subject matter that is of course potentially very emotive, the course material and facilitators got the tone absolutely right. The lived experience although incredibly sad, and a legacy that nobody wishes to have, added that extra sincerity and credibility to the delivery. The group size was perfect with all participants very respectful of each other and everyone had the opportunity to contribute. The evidence base behind the findings consolidated how to safely and sensitively support persons bereaved and affected by suicide which in itself contributes to suicide prevention.

I really enjoyed the PABBS training event delivered by Angela and Sharon. The content was both thought provoking and informative. The training provided useful resources and workbooks that I am looking forward to sharing with my colleagues. Personally, I feel the training increased my confidence in engaging with individuals who have been bereaved by suicide. It has encouraged me to be mindful of the language often used in service provision and reinforced the importance of being a listening ear. “It’s okay not to have all the answers, we cannot solve but we CAN support”.

Fab training provided, very informative and knowledgeable has been able to enable me to share information with our liaison practitioners and gave me the information which I was able to put together for the practitioners which in turn enables them to support  individuals who are in need of support from bereavement by suicide and able to signpost them for further support so gaining this knowledge was massive and extremely helpful for our Liaison team.

The training also provided a safe space to discuss this very sensitive subject.

The day went to fast thank you

I really enjoyed the PABBS Training on Tuesday. I found it interesting -both the handouts and the delivery/content of the training were extremely informative. Both Sharon and Angela were very friendly and approachable and by sharing their own lived experiences it made the training feel a lot more personable than just learning about statistics etc. I have learnt skills and knowledge that will be invaluable to my role and would highly recommend this training for anyone working within the Mental Health Field.

‘My name is Lisa and I took part in the PABBS training on the 3^rd May. I have been a mental health professional for over 10 years now, working in adult acute care, and have been in my current role as a Street Triage Clinician for approx. 2 years. Throughout my career and personal life, I have been continuously exposed to people ending their life by suicide and also worked very closely with people who are struggling with bereavement from suicide.

I found the structure of the day very engaging and the resources will certainly be something I will take forward in my role, as signposting to appropriate services is a huge part of what I do now, as effective signposting is crucial.

I found the trainers amazing in their approach from the outset, and they managed to deliver what is a very difficult and emotive subject with passion. They were very open and engaging and supported everyone throughout the day.

I really think this training could make a huge difference in our field and would recommend it to anyone.’

Thank you for putting together such an amazing course with all of those involved

I found the training event incredibly beneficial.  It was thought provoking, informative and provided a safe space for colleagues to discuss openly and share experiences. The trainers were brilliant hosts and trainers; it was a privilege to hear their stories. The training provided a safe space for some very open and honest conversations, which were powerful in terms of getting people to think differently around the language we use about suicide and the whole assessment process.

Thank you very much 

This Postvention [PABBS] evidenced-based training is the best around and delivered on everything it promised. Well-paced, with knowledgeable facilitators, the training offered participants exactly what was promised. Equipping us with the skills to confidently support individuals who have sadly been bereaved by suicide.