As a service provider and professional, whether or not you specialize in suicide prevention, suicide is part of your reality. Sometimes you must act for the safety and wellbeing of the people who use your services, answer questions about how to approach the topic or look at prevention activities to implement in your community.
Recommendations specific to settings for young people, such as schools, are proposed by the Institut national de santé publique and the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.
The subject of suicide should be raised delicately and safely with youth. Be sure that young people who could be vulnerable are properly cared for. When working with young people and groups of students, interventions that focus solely on suicide can actually do more harm than good. It is thus better to address mental health and healthy coping strategies.
Therefore:
Take your time. Even if the suicide sends a shockwave through the community, interventions must be planned.
How to talk to young people about suicide
IN QUEBEC, BETWEEN 2011 AND 2018, MORE THAN 24,000 SERVICE PROVIDERS WERE TRAINED IN BEST PRATICES FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION.