A Practical Guide to Working with Suicidal Youth

The straight talking un-PC Guide to working with Suicidal Youth.
Imagine, you are in your office. Other staff bring in a student with casts on both arms, hospitalised earlier in the week after a serious suicide attempt. His parents are with him. They are distraught. The student is glaring at you, swearing, yelling that all professionals are useless, and we just need to let him die. He has intent, an immediate plan, and determination.
Francis Jamieson, private practice Psychotherapist/Supervisor/Professional trainer, HOD Counsellor East Auckland School and author of "A Practical Guide to Working with Suicidal Youth, A New Zealand Perspective" 2013 presents a one-day workshop which will demonstrate the power of potent relationship building and the importance of this in keeping our suicidal tamariki safe and alive. An in-vivo role play will model style/interventions and strategies that promote the vital connection that is needed to change the minds of those determined to die by suicide - to seeing the point of living.
The workshop aims to model experiential psychotherapeutic techniques that can pull young people back from the brink. It focuses on what you as a therapist can do and how you can make the difference.
Learning Outcomes
The key concepts explored include:
Connection, the importance of relationship, transparency, honesty, vitality, touching the soul, intuition, spirituality, keeping it real, humour, and keeping self-care simple.
Aspects of teenage development, and in particular dysfunction, which may influence suicidal thinking.
Why so many New Zealand youth contemplate ending their lives - the three areas being; the meta-level, common issues faced, and potential triggers are explored. From the issues discussed, the workshop also highlights possible thought changing conversations people can have to promote new positive pro-life thinking.
There will be time for questions, and debate, and should time allow, difficult scenarios may also be offered in the form of role-play
Who should attend
This workshop is useful for both health and education professionals and others who are faced with needing to support those at serious risk of suicide.
Front-line staff working with youth in schools, social services, health, and law enforcement including:
- Teachers, School Counsellors, RTLB Teachers, School Nurses
- Licensed Practicing Counsellors, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Psychotherapists, Mental Health Nurses, Therapists, Family Therapists
- General Practitioners, Case Workers, Social Workers, and Youth Workers
- Emergency Room staff
- Police and Probation Officers
- Key Workers, Unit Managers
- Telephone Helpline staff
- Volunteers, and those who are supporting whanau who are suicidal.
Francis Jamieson, (Bachelor of Arts, Certificate of Proficiency in Teaching People with Special Needs (Applied Behavioural Analysis based), Graduate Diploma Psychotherapy, Advanced Supervision Training), has worked in mental health for the last 37 years as both as a private consultant for institutions and in private homes, training/supporting staff/people with clients experiencing extreme behavioural challenges.
His journey started with working for the IHC and after completing his BA and CPTIH, he became a consultant for people with Special Needs.
After counselling many caregivers in this capacity, he studied Applied Psychotherapy at AUT and managed/facilitated the Man Alive Adolescent Programme for Youth at Risk in West Auckland.
In 1996 he started counselling in Secondary Schools and firmly believes that, other than in the home, schools are where the most potent work in keeping our tamariki safe, can be attained.
He has worked as a family therapist and has a small private practice where he offers supervision for counsellors and psychotherapists, and trains other health professionals in working with clients with ADHD, Working with Trauma, and Suicidal Thinking. He also offers workshops for parent groups, and other interested parties.
His workshops have been described as empowering, educational, challenging, confronting, entertaining, authentic, informative, and practice changing.