Young People's Self Harm Awareness/ Suicide Awareness and Ligature Training

SELF HARM AWARENESS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE/SUICIDE AWARENESS AND LIGATURE TRAINING

Course Duration: 6 Hours

Exam Required: No

Certificate of Completion: Yes

Self-harm in young people is often understood to be a physical response to emotional pain of some kind and can be extremely addictive. Some self-harm behaviours in young people are quite well known, such as cutting, burning or pinching, but there are many, many ways to injure oneself, including abusing drugs and alcohol or having an eating disorder.

Everyone has accidents from time to time resulting in cuts, scratches and bruises – but it’s the injuries that are caused on purpose that are considered to be acts of self-harm. Self-harm often happens during times of distress, anger, fear, worry, depression or low self-esteem in order to manage or control negative feelings.

Course Content:

• Children’s Home Quality Standards and Children’s Homes Regulations (England) 2015)
• What is self harm
• Statistics
• Working with young people
• Keys for Helping
• Why do teenagers and children self harm including:

1. Childhood Experiences
2. What can we do to help!
3. Offering emotional support
4. Helping young people to build their confidence

• Types of self harm
• Concepts of self harm
• Causes of self harm
• Situations for discussion
• Risk Management
• Help

Suicide Awareness and Ligature Awareness Course Content (Afternoon Session)

Objectives:

By the end of the course, attendees should have a better understanding of company policies, procedures and guidelines relating to ligatures.  Learners will also gain practical knowledge and skills to enable them to safely and securely rescue an individual who has ligatured using a range of Ligature Cutters.

Course Content

• Suicide Statistics (National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness. Annual Report 2020)
• Why do people attempt and sometimes complete suicide
• We will explore ligature risk assessments and discuss environmental risk assessments.
• Know the importance of the review process.
• Review the organisation’s current policy, process and procedures on the use of the cutters.
• Explore ligature risk assessments and environmental risk assessments.
• Explore anti ligature devices
• Identify types of ligatures and ligature points.
• Implementing control measures
• Recognise and describe the signs and symptoms of ligature injuries.
• Management of the ligatured person
• Personal risk assessment and approach
• Demonstrate the safe removal of ligatures using cutters.
• Demonstrate safe removal from suspension.
• Describe how to safely store, maintain, dispose and replace cutters.
• Discuss First Aid Actions following strangulation or attempted strangulation. 
• Use of the ligature knife demonstration and practical ligature cutting exercise including:
  1. Safe removal of ligature using a range of ligature cutters
  2. Safe removal from Suspension
  3. Safe storage of ligature cutters

If you are interested in booking a space to attend, please contact Erin York erinyork@warwickshire.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact The Learning Partnership warwickshirelearninganddevelopmentpartnership@warwickshire.gov.uk