Training
SFA: Young Adult
Understanding the Need for Suicide Prevention among Young Adults in Higher Education
Young adults in higher education face unique pressures that make suicide prevention critical within this group. Research from University College London (UCL). UCL has identified a strong link between academic pressures and mental health issues, with symptoms of anxiety and depression often peaking around exams and deadlines. This trend appears consistently across studies, indicating the toll that academic demands can have on mental health.
Additionally, findings from Times Higher Education Times Higher Education (THE) reveal that 81% of UK university students report experiencing mental health struggles, often driven by isolation, loneliness, and academic stress.
These challenges are further compounded by limited resources in student support services, which are increasingly strained to meet the mental health needs of students. The data highlights a growing demand for structured suicide prevention programmes within higher education settings, aimed at mitigating these stressors and supporting students through periods of vulnerability.
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Programme Overview
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Young Adults (USI)
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Young Adults (Lite)
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Book Your Place
Programmes Overview:
This programme provides participants with the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed to effectively intervene in situations where someone may be contemplating suicide in a third sector educative setting.
Designed for individuals working in tertiary education or roles related to student wellbeing, this programme equips you with the tools to recognise the signs of suicide thoughts and behaviour. It shows you how to initiate lifesaving conversations and connect individuals with appropriate resources. Whether you're a healthcare professional, educator, HR personnel, community leader, or concerned family member, this programme empowers you to make a real difference.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Understanding Suicide: Gain insights into the complex factors that can lead to suicide thoughts and behaviours in individuals experiencing acute stress, including economic pressures, mental health challenges, and societal factors.
- Recognising the Signs in students: Learn how to identify the verbal, behavioural, and situational indicators that someone may be at thinking about suicide.
- Effective Communication Techniques for Distressed Individuals: Develop skills to engage in sensitive and supportive conversations tailored to those struggling, helping to de-escalate crises and offer hope.
- Immediate Intervention Strategies for Thougths of Suicide: Acquire practical tools and approaches for providing immediate support to individuals vulnerable to suicide, including how to refer them to mental health professionals and financial counselling services.
- Ethical Considerations in Suicide Prevention: Understand the ethical responsibilities involved in suicide prevention within the context of supporting students, including confidentiality, consent, and the importance of self-care.
Programmes Format and Duration:
This is a concise, focused programme delivered online, making it accessible for busy professionals. The programme can be delivered in both a full day and half day training and includes a mix of interactive presentations, real-life case studies, and role-playing exercises specifically related to financial stress, ensuring participants leave with practical, actionable skills.
Who Should Attend:
Anyone in a position to support individuals who have a vulnerability to suicide thoughts, including academic staff, student wellbeing teams, resident assistants, security personnel, student advisors , counsellors, administrative staff, senior leaders, external healthcare providers, educators, HR managers, community leaders, social workers, and concerned family members. No prior experience in mental health or suicide prevention is required.
Certification:
Upon completion of the Suicide First Aid® for Young Adults USI (1 day programme), participants have the option to take the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Level 4 award in Suicide First Aid®. This is a written assignment and upon completion Learners will receive an official qualification certificate from RSPH.
Please note the half-day Suicide First Aid® Young Adults Lite course does not have a qualification route.
Why This Programmes Matters:
By equipping yourself with the skills taught in this programme, you become a crucial part of the effort to reduce suicide rates. Every intervention can make a difference and save lives.
Part 1: Understanding the Impact of Suicide Thoughts and Behaviour
- Introduction & Programme Outline: Overview of the programmes and its objectives, focusing on the relationship between suicide thoughts and suicide behaviour.
- Working with Attitudes & Values: Explore how personal and societal attitudes toward mental health can influence suicide thoughts.
- Stigma, Survivors of Suicides, and the Hidden Toll®: Understand the hidden emotional burden carried by those left behind after a suicide.
- Suicide – The Ripple Effect®: Review statistics on how different factors contribute to suicide behaviour and its broader impact on communities.
- Understanding Suicide Thoughts and Behaviours: Learn about the different factors that can lead to thoughts of suicide.
- Intention vs. Outcome of Behaviour®: Examine the differences between a person's intentions and the actual outcomes of their actions.
- Possible Causes of Suicide Thoughts: Identify the potential triggers of suicide thoughts in individuals.
Part 2: Strategic Approaches to Suicide Prevention.
- Population-Based Approach to Suicide Prevention: Explore strategies to prevent suicide on a broader scale.
- Suicide Prevention – Intervention – Postvention: Learn the key stages of suicide prevention, from early intervention to postvention support.
- Partnership Working – First Aid Approach: Understand how to collaborate effectively with others to provide Suicide First Aid® to individuals..
- “I’m Really Glad You Told Me”®: Watch a powerful audio-visual presentation featuring real-life scenarios and students who have successfully intervened in cases of suicide.
Part 3: Practical Skills for Supporting Individuals
- Meeting the Needs of a Person Contemplating Suicide: Learn how to address the specific needs of individuals whose suicide thoughts.
- Suicide-Safety Guide – 3 Step Model:
- Step 1 – Recognising Suicide Thoughts: Understand how to identify warning signs and ask the right questions in conversations.
- Step 2 – Listening to Understand and Exploring Options: Explore the importance of listening and how to discuss and explore different support options with a person having thoughts of suicide.
Part 4: Ensuring Safety and Self-Care in Suicide Prevention
- Step 3 – Helping You Cope: Strategies for supporting both the person with thoughts of suicide and yourself through challenging situations.
- Future Learning: Learn effective ways to document interventions and identify opportunities for ongoing education and development in suicide prevention.
- Self-Care for Suicide First Aiders®: Understand the importance of self-care and how to manage the emotional impact of working with those affected by suicide.
Part 1: Understanding the Impact of Suicide Thoughts and Behaviour
- Introduction & Programme Outline: Overview of the programmes and its objectives, focusing on the relationship between suicide thoughts and suicide behaviour.
- Working with Attitudes & Values: Explore how personal and societal attitudes toward mental health can influence suicide thoughts.
- Stigma, Survivors of Suicides, and the Hidden Toll®: Understand the hidden emotional burden carried by those left behind after a suicide.
- Suicide – The Ripple Effect®: Review statistics on how different factors contribute to suicide behaviour and its broader impact on communities.
- Understanding Suicide Thoughts and Behaviours: Learn about the different factors that can lead to thoughts of suicide.
- Intention vs. Outcome of Behaviour®: Examine the differences between a person's intentions and the actual outcomes of their actions.
- Possible Causes of Suicide Thoughts: Identify the potential triggers of suicide thoughts in individuals.
- “I’m Really Glad You Told Me”®: Watch a powerful audio-visual presentation featuring real-life scenarios and students who have successfully intervened in cases of suicide.
Part 2: Practical Skills for Supporting Individuals
- Meeting the Needs of a Person Contemplating Suicide: Learn how to address the specific needs of individuals whose suicide thoughts.
- Suicide-Safety Guide – 3 Step Model:
- Step 1 – Recognising Suicide Thoughts: Understand how to identify warning signs and ask the right questions in conversations.
- Step 2 – Listening to Understand and Exploring Options: Explore the importance of listening and how to discuss and explore different support options with a person having thoughts of suicide.
- Step 3 – Helping You Cope: Strategies for supporting both the person with thoughts of suicide and yourself through challenging situations.
- Self-Care for Suicide First Aiders®: Understand the importance of self-care and how to manage the emotional impact of working with those affected by suicide.
To sign up to one of our open SFA courses today, visit our Eventbrite here:
To book a course for your organisation, get in touch at training@ncspt.org.uk
