Jamie - ASIST Training
Jamie Aarons, who works with young people with disabilities, has completed the ASIST workshop and is one of 11,500 people who have been trained across Scotland. Jamie had to put her suicide prevention skills to use much sooner than she ever anticipated:
I was to put my newly acquired skills into effect within 18 hours of being handed my ASIST certificate (possibly an ASIST world record!). While on the phone with a distraught client, I realised she was raising a lot of alarm bells and my concern for her wellbeing was growing.
Prior to doing ASIST I wouldn’t have had the confidence to mention suicide to a client, let alone to ask the direct ‘suicide question’. But based on my experience and practice while on the course, I was able to explicitly ask my client if she was considering suicide. We were then able to move forward together, in a safe and planned way.Again, I can say with 100% certainty that I would not have had the skills or confidence to proceed in this way had it not been for ASIST.
This is a workshop that can be useful for everyone, regardless of employment, since the risk of suicide can happen when you least expect it.The suicide first aid skills learned here can be relevant for both professional and personal lives; there are no rules for when or where you might encounter someone who is considering suicide.
There few courses that I have taken throughout my social work career that I would rave about, but this is certainly one of them. While we all hope that skills like those learned here will not be needed, I now feel equipped to intervene and offer immediate support to someone considering suicide. These are the skills that could make all the difference.
To find out more about ASIST and other training, visit our Training and Learning section.
Next story: David - STORM Training
