Conversations Matter courageous voices

Conversations Matter courageous voices

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  Courageous Voices 26June 2014 Alexandra Culloden conversationsmatter.com.au
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  Conversations Matter whendiscussing suicide in LGBTI communities
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  Why do ConversationsMatter?
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  Suicide in LGBTIcommunity • Most current statistics come from studies conducted in the last decade • LGBTI people have significantly poorer mental health and higher rates of suicide ideation than the general Australian population • There is currently no population based research on LGBTI completed suicides in Australia
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  Suicide in LGBTIcommunity Private Lives I (2006): – 49% of LGBTI men had experienced a major depressive episode – 45% of LGBTI women had experienced a major depressive episode – 16% of all respondents had suicidal ideation in the two weeks prior to the survey Suicide Prevention Australia (2009): – 28% LGBTI women have self harmed or attempted suicide compared to 8.3% of heterosexual women – 20.8% of LGBTI men compared to 5.4% of heterosexual men have self harmed Nicholas & Howard (1998) – bisexual young people had a higher rate of self-harm than their exclusively gay and lesbian-identified peers
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  Discussing suicide Often thereis confusion about what is meant by “discussing” or “talking” about suicide and confusion about the evidence • One-on-one conversations • Large group presentations • Media reporting about suicide deaths • Media reporting about the issue of suicide Need to ensure that we are not ‘too afraid’ to talk about suicide but also that we understand the risks
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  What Conversations Matterwhen working with LGBTI communities? conversationsmatter.com.au
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  “I think sometimespeople feel shame around suicide, both people who might have ideas of suicide and those people who might be affected” “I think if we were able to have more open conversations about it people might be more willing to ask for help earlier, or do something about it”
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  Developing community guidelinesfor discussing suicide- Conversations Matter Funded by the NSW Ministry of Health under the NSW Suicide Prevention Strategy 2010-2015 Aim: To develop resources (community guidelines) to guide safe and effective discussion of suicide
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  What needs tobe covered? • Why? - focus of discussion • Prevention, intervention or postvention • How? –format of the discussion • One-on-one, small group, wide scale • Where?- setting • Community, online, family, schools, workplaces • Who? –target groups for discussions • People who identify as LGBTI, people living in rural and remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, CALD communities, men, young people (under 25 years), older people (over 65 years), people with a mental illness, carers, people bereaved by suicide
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  Developing world firstresources…where to begin?
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  Approach Literature Review • Reviewof research evidence • Review and analysis of existing resources and approaches Consultations • Service providers and key informants across four settings • Consultations with community Core Principles Three review panels (experts, target groups, settings) reviewed a series of ‘principles’ to guide conversations focussed on: prevention, intervention and postvention Online resources • Community resources for discussing suicide (tailored resources for Aboriginal communities) • Professional resources to support community discussion of suicide
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  LITERATURE REVIEW ONLINE RESOURCES •New name and branding for the resources; • Community resources for discussing suicide; • Professional resources to support community discussion of suicide. CONSULTATIONS CORE PRINCIPLES Three review panels (experts, target groups, settings) review a series of ‘principles’ to guide prevention-focused, intervention focused, and postvention focused conversations. • 120 local, national and international approaches were reviewed • Only 4.2% were specifically targeting people who identify as LGBTI • Partnered with ACON to hold focus group with 10 participants • 29% of the 87 remaining focus group participants identified as LGBTI
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  LGBTI consultations • 10participants attended session run in partnership with ACON • Key findings: • All participants agreed that conversations about suicide were important • Conversations were viewed to be occurring more often with young people than older groups • Stigma and shame were common barriers to having conversations • Campaigns such as ‘RUOK?’ were viewed as good starting points but concerns were raised as to what happens when someone says “no” • Need for greater awareness and education about risk factors and warning signs • Risk factors: isolation, lack of support (incl services), experiences of discrimination, alcohol and other drugs, suicide bereavement
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  Launching Conversations Matter Launchedby the NSW Minister for Mental Health, the Hon. Kevin Humphries MP on the 14th November 2013
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  Community resources Conversations Matter: •When holding group discussions about suicide • When someone is thinking about suicide • When communities are affected by suicide • To those bereaved by suicide • When telling a child about suicide Each available as a fact sheet, audio podcast and online presentation
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  When holding groupdiscussion about suicide
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  When someone isthinking about suicide
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  When communities areaffected by suicide
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  To those bereavedby suicide
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  When telling achild about suicide
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  www.conversationsmatter.com.au www.himh.org.au Follow us onTwitter and Facebook @HInstMH [email protected] 02 4924 6900