Event - Suicide prevention training in Pakistan
The first steps towards a suicide prevention model for clinicians and medical school students in Pakistan were taken recently when 30 participants received online training to spot the signs in someone who is thinking of suicide and have a conversation that could help save their life.
Olly's Future, a UK based suicide prevention charity, delivered its 90 minute online session called Talking about Suicide: 10 Tools to clinicians and medical school staff. The session is part of a programme which is rolled out to GPs and medical schools across the UK, with British Medical Association support.
Among the ten tools taught are those about the use of healthy language around suicide to dispel shame and guilt.
The pilot in Pakistan was a joint venture between Olly's Future, CareIf international mental health charity and Dr Afzal Javed, Careif Trustee and Past President of the World Psychiatric and Chair of the Pakistan Psychiatric Research Centre, Fountain House, Lahore.
Dr Javed said afterwards:
"Let me thank you again for this excellent opportunity to learn and reflect on our practices. Well done to your team, reminding us about the basic skills that all mental health professionals should learn."
Professor Rachel Tribe, Chair of Careif, also commented:
"We are delighted to partner with Olly's Future and Fountain House, Lahore, to bring this important training to Pakistan."
Training by Olly’s Future
Ann Feloy founded Olly's Future in 2020 after her beloved son died by suicide when he was 22 years old. Her aim is to equip others with the skills she wished she'd had to help her son. The training she has developed has now been taught to over 7,000 participants, mainly working in healthcare. Staff at the British Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street also received the training after Ann was given a 'Points of Light' award from the PM's office.
Ann said:
“It is a very exciting prospect to be bringing our training to Pakistan, in order to breakdown the stigma and fear around suicide, and speaking about this with family, friends, work colleagues and patients. By talking openly and honestly, we can prevent lives being lost to this tragic waste of life.”
For more information visit the Olly’s Future website.
Olly’s Light Travels
Olly's Future won a top film award recently for their documentary 'Olly's Light Travels', which was presented at the O2 Arena in London. The film tells the story of the remarkable young man in whose memory Olly's Future was set up and whose legacy is making such an enormous impact worldwide. You can watch it below.
