Our Chair Andrew Reeves has delivered a powerful message for World Mental Health Day, on this year’s theme of suicide prevention.
In his 40-second message Andrew urges people to “ask the question” about suicide.
We’ve joined organisations and individuals around the world in “40 seconds of action” to raise awareness of the scale of suicide and the role that each of us can play to help prevent it.
The focus has been inspired by the shocking statistic that every 40 seconds, someone loses their life to suicide.
Andrew said: “The myth is, of course, if we ask someone who isn’t suicidal about suicide, we could put the thought in their mind. This is a compete myth and there is no evidence for it at all.
“However, what we do know is that by asking somebody about suicide we can open an opportunity for them to talk and explore their feelings and very probably help save a life.”
Counselling can be an effective way of supporting people who are suicidal, but balancing the safety of the client, alongside their autonomy and right to confidentiality, is an ever-present risk.
Research shows that working with suicidal clients can challenge even the most experienced practitioners and can impact their mental health.
Counselling changes lives
We carried out a survey with more than 5,000 people to find out how they perceive counselling and psychotherapy.
We wanted to know if there were barriers that might stop people getting therapy, if they’d had counselling and would recommend it and what their perception was of mental health.
The Public Perception Survey was carried out by YouGov. It uncovered some incredible statistics that show the power of counselling and its ability to change lives.
Our press releases on this work have reached millions of people so far, and we’ve developed an infographic that captures some of the highlights.
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