Self Harm Awareness for Young People/Suicide Awareness and Ligature Training

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. This essential training course increases awareness of self-harm and suicide in young people, including risk factors, early intervention, and ligature responses.

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 2024)
• We will explore ligature risk assessments and discuss environmental risk assessments.
• Environmental risk evaluation
• Identifying ligatures and ligature points
• Mechanisms and signs of ligature injuries
• Recognising high-risk behaviours and warning signs
• Safely removing ligatures using specialised cutters
• Dynamic risk assessments and response protocols
• Practicing safe removal techniques from various positions
• Procedures for storing, maintaining, and replacing cutters
• Preserving cutters and the incident scene for forensic evidence
• Exploring reduced ligature devices
• Discuss First Aid Actions following strangulation or attempted strangulation. 
  (This will include a discussion around appropriate airway management techniques, to the staff member’s level of first aid skills and training.)
• Practical drills and scenario-based discussions
• Use of the ligature cutter demonstration and practical ligature cutting exercises including:
  1. Safe removal of ligature using a range of ligature cutters
  2. Safe removal from Suspension
  3. Safe storage of ligature cutters

Course Assessment and Certification

Those learners who complete the course and are deemed to have reached the required standard will be awarded a certificate of attendance which is valid for three years.

This course is often booked with the following courses:

• First Aid After Ligature
• Mental Health Awareness Training
• Self Harm Awareness Training
• Self Harm Awareness and Ligature Training
• Suicide Prevention Training (Hosting Suicidal Conversation with Empathetic and Compassionate Responses)
• Mental Health Awareness