It took just minutes for a deeply traumatic experience in March 2012 to fracture my life. I experienced such terror during those moments that I couldn’t sit with my back to a door for weeks. I was convinced that someone would come in and harm me. The event replayed constantly in my mind. I couldn’t escape. I was in the grip of severe post-traumatic stress disorder and within days I was at the point of suicide.
I called my out of hours GP and was referred to a mental health crisis and home treatment team, but I found it hard to connect with the number of different people involved in my care. Their methods were very practical. They would tell me to distract myself when I felt suicidal. But what I wanted was emotional support from a team who knew and understood me as an individual. The clinical distance of psychiatric staff left me feeling detached and alone
On a summer’s day in that year I started to picture in my mind what would have helped me: a suicide crisis centre. It would be a place I could visit every day. If I was at imminent risk of suicide, I could be supported there over a number of hours. The staff would be highly trained, skilled professionals – but they would also be kind, caring and empathic.
In the months that followed I worked tenaciously to make that picture a reality: focusing on setting up the crisis centre gave me a reason to live. There are now 25 of us working there, and we will soon be marking four years of providing services. A high proportion of our clients are men, and this is significant; nationally, three times (pdf) as many men die by suicide as women.
We never set out to achieve zero suicides. That would have been a massive pressure on all of us. We simply set out to do everything that we could for each individual to help them survive. We have never had a suicide of a client under our care.
One of our clients says he carries us in his pocket. He feels that we are always with him
We don’t just provide a static centre for people to visit when they are in crisis. If they are very distressed, they may not be able to get to us, so sometimes we need to go out to them. The combination of an accessible crisis centre, home visits and our emergency phone lines places a safety net around our clients.
The quality of the relationship is so important when you’re supporting someone at risk. We work hard to build a strong connection with our clients. It’s the reason they call our emergency line at 3am, when they might not have called another service. They get through to someone they know and that makes a difference. Clients often say they wouldn’t have called an anonymous service at that point.
If you build a strong connection with clients, it can “hold” them even when you are not with them. One of our clients says he carries us in his pocket. He feels that we are always with him.
I sometimes get asked how I cope with the emotional intensity of the work. Firstly, we get excellent support and supervision from senior staff who are available at very short notice. Secondly, I see such wonderful personal qualities in our clients and that’s a source of optimism. They will go out into the world and affect other people in a positive way. That gives me huge hope for the future.
When I started to talk about my plans back in 2012, people were sceptical. It seemed such an ambitious project for a person who had recently been in crisis. But I knew it had to be set up.
MPs on the Commons health select committee recently asked us to provide evidence about our suicide crisis centre for an inquiry into suicide prevention. Their final report has just been published.
We are contacted by people from all over the country who would like a similar centre in their area. I hope that will be possible. I know how much they are needed.
- Joy Hibbins is founder and director of Suicide Crisis, which runs a suicide crisis centre in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.
Comments on this article will be switched on later. Comments on this article will be pre-moderated and will only be visible after being approved by a moderator.
The day I made a difference is the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s series that showcases the work of people involved with charities. If you have a story to share about a landmark moment in your life, email voluntarysectornetwork@theguardian.com.
Talk to us on Twitter via @Gdnvoluntary and join our community for your free fortnightly Guardian Voluntary Sector newsletter, with analysis and opinion sent direct to you on the first and third Thursday of the month.
After my suicide crisis I set up a centre to give others a safety net | Joy Hibbins
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder