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.
Currently attending a day of fabulous training on how to assist and support those bereaved by suicide. Honored to be part of this ongoing work
“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.
I found the training [PABBS] invaluable and has offered me some great ideas on how to support people after suicide. It was great to hear people’s lived experience and to know that it is ok not to have all the answers but to simply be there for them afterwards can be enough.
“I was really glad to attend this training and find that the content was wholly applicable to the police service’s response to death by (suspected) suicide. The 2 trainers were fantastic and their passion and drive to address suicide bereavement was clear to see. I will definitely be sharing my learning with colleagues.
In relation to the Covid -19 protocols, I felt it was a really well considered and safe environment and I don’t think there is much more that could have been done.”
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.
Andrea & Sharon’s training skilfully combined thought-provoking data with a powerful & heartfelt argument for informed postvention as suicide prevention. I found this a confidence boosting & life affirming event
It was a fantastic day, where a difficult subject was handled well.
I have known families in both my personal and professional life, who have been bereaved by suicide and have felt ill equipped to know how to best care for them. This training has provided great insight in how to support families and professionals through this challenging time.
‘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.
‘I wanted to share my grateful thanks to you both, and please pass onto Andrea, for the excellent training provided to our Thames Valley group last week. [….] The feedback which is flowing through following the training completely assures me that the training was well received. I shall be reporting to the stakeholders who helped fund the training, well evidenced appreciation of the contribution you all made to this important area of work. Your personal commitment to delivery of such a very well thought out training package has certainly delivered personal development, inspired wider briefings to colleagues, provided fantastic skills to those who attended and will no doubt add to the valuable support that all agencies are offering to bereaved relatives and those affected by suicides locally.
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.