NHS England publishes - Staying Safe from Suicide
ACC and the SCoPEd partnership welcome the publication of ‘Staying Safe from Suicide’ by NHS England.
The partnership was pleased to be invited to comment on the guidance during its development. It marks an important shift towards the holistic, patient-centred approach integral to our wider profession and this specific and complex area of practice in all settings, and a move away from the unacceptable and often-harmful reliance on risk-prediction tools or simplistic questions.
We also welcome the recognition that in this area of practice the work is never complete, and that the application of the principles included in the guidance must be applied appropriately according to different settings and individual circumstances and fully responsive to the voices of those with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and their experience of mental health services.
The partnership is keen to continue contributing to the understanding and improvement of practice in this complex and tragic area.
The Board of ACC have given support to this guidance because of its moral and ethical concern for the value and sanctity of life and the agency of hope. In doing so, they fully accept that it is also important for counsellors and psychotherapists to be free to explore with their clients, as appropriate, the context of suicidal thoughts and behaviours and to acknowledge the associated despair and hopelessness. The Board believe that the framework and resources provided by ‘staying safe’ complement good counselling and psychotherapy practice.