Samaritans is developing a digital learning offer for practitioners to help them support individuals who may be engaging with online content around suicide and self-harm.
This will help practitioners develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to support service-users to stay safe online.
Why is this project important?
The internet provides access to a wide range of material on suicide and self-harm. Although some content can be helpful, providing support and connection, other content can be harmful, and could maintain, exacerbate or trigger self-harm and suicide behaviours. It’s vital that practitioners have up-to-date knowledge on the risks and benefits of online use, as they provide a crucial point of support for users.
For practitioners, knowing about someone’s online use can help them identify unmet support needs and assess a person’s self-harm and suicide risk. However, there’s currently little guidance available to practitioners on how to navigate these issues, and many are unsure of how to discuss this with service users.
Who are we trying to reach?
Our online safety hub will be open access. We aim to reach a broad range of professional groups working across primary, secondary and community healthcare settings. This will include mental health nurses, psychologists, counsellors, A&E staff and more.
What will our online safety hub provide?
Our online safety hub will expand on the existing guidance to provide a more interactive learning offer, that is easy to use, engaging and regularly updated. The content will be co-produced with practitioners and individuals with lived experience of self-harm and suicidal feelings.
Help us shape the design of our new online safety hub
Do you support people at risk of suicide and self-harm? If so, we need your help. Samaritans are looking for practitioners to feed into the design of a new online safety hub.