Suicide First Aid
Build the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to recognise when someone may be thinking about suicide and support them towards safety with care and compassion.
Suicide First Aid
The Suicide First Aid course is a one-day training course that teaches the theory and practice of suicide intervention skills. It is suitable for professional and personal settings, helping learners understand suicidal thoughts and behaviour, recognise when someone may need support and use the Suicide-Safety Guide to help create suicide-safety.
This suicide prevention training is delivered with sensitivity, respect and a clear focus on practical, compassionate support. It is designed to help learners feel more prepared to have careful conversations, understand risk and signpost towards appropriate help.
This course provides a supportive learning environment for a subject that can feel difficult to talk about, while helping learners build confidence in a safe and structured way. Young persons Suicide First Aid courses are available on contact.
What is Suicide First Aid?
Suicide First Aid is A one-day, City & Guilds-accredited course teaching the theory and practice of suicide intervention skills, applicable in any professional or personal setting. Learners gain the knowledge and tools to understand that suicide is preventable, and the basic skills to help someone with thoughts of suicide stay safe.
The course helps learners understand suicidal thoughts and behaviour, explore some of the possible causes behind them and develop practical skills for supporting someone towards suicide-safety. It uses the Suicide-Safety Guide as a clear framework for recognising suicide thoughts, asking about suicide and exploring options for support.
This course does not make learners therapists, counsellors or clinicians. Instead, it supports them to notice when someone may need help, listen with care, ask direct and supportive questions, understand options and connect the person with appropriate support.
For organisations, Suicide First Aid courses can form part of a proactive approach to mental health, wellbeing and safety. It can help staff feel more confident responding when someone may be experiencing suicidal thoughts, while also recognising the importance of self-care and appropriate boundaries.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is suitable for anyone who may need to support people who could be thinking about suicide. No previous experience or training is necessary. It is widely used across:
The course may be especially helpful for people whose roles involve supporting others through distress, pressure, crisis or uncertainty.
It is also suitable for workplaces that want to build a more confident and compassionate approach to suicide prevention, giving staff the skills to notice concerns, respond carefully and help someone access further support.
What Will Learners Gain From The Course?
By the end of the Suicide First Aid course, learners will have developed a stronger understanding of suicide prevention and how to support someone who may be thinking about suicide.
Learners will explore how to:
- Identify someone who may be thinking about suicide
- Understand suicidal thoughts and behaviour, and the causes behind them
- Confidently intervene to help create suicide-safety, using the Suicide-Safety Guide
- Understand risk assessment and self-care in the suicide first aider role
The course is designed to be practical, emotionally aware and confidence-building. Learners are supported to explore a sensitive subject in a safe environment, with space to reflect, ask questions and build skills gradually.
The focus is not on having all the answers. It is on recognising when someone may need support, responding with compassion and helping them move towards appropriate help and safety.
The Suicide First Aid course is delivered over one day.
It can be delivered:
- Face-to-face
- Online
A highly interactive, emotionally engaging day of tutor-facilitated Socratic learning, guided practice, mini-lectures, group work and audiovisual presentation, delivered by experienced suicide prevention trainers, face-to-face or online.
This format helps learners build both understanding and practical confidence. The course is structured carefully so that sensitive topics are approached with respect, while still giving learners the opportunity to practise and apply what they are learning.
We work hard to ensure we creates a calm, compassionate and professional learning space where people can engage with suicide prevention in a way that feels supportive and grounded.
What Does The Course Cover?
The Suicide First Aid course is structured across four parts.
Introduction
The first part introduces suicide prevention and explores stigma and the impact on people bereaved by suicide.
Learners also look at suicidal thoughts versus behaviour, intention versus outcome and possible causes of suicidal thoughts. This helps build a thoughtful foundation for understanding suicide prevention with care and sensitivity.
Explore
The second part explores the ripple effect of suicide, population-based prevention approaches and partnership working.
Learners also reflect on attitudes and values and engage with an audiovisual case study. This part helps learners consider the wider context of suicide prevention and the importance of compassionate, informed responses.
Suicide-Safety Guide
The third part focuses on meeting the needs of someone who may be thinking about suicide.
Learners are introduced to the Suicide-Safety Guide, including recognising and asking about suicide and understanding options for support. This section helps learners develop practical skills for careful and supportive conversations.
Understand
The final part explores safeguarding suicide, suicide-safety and self-care.
Learners also look at risk assessment, suicide and suicide gestures, and further learning. This part supports learners to understand the suicide first aider role with appropriate care, boundaries and awareness of their own wellbeing.
What Will Learners Receive?
After completing the course, learners receive resources to support their learning and continued confidence.
Course takeaways include:
These resources are designed to help learners revisit key parts of the course and continue developing their understanding after the training day.
Why Choose Changing Minds Training?
Changing Minds Training delivers accredited mental health, suicide prevention and wellbeing training built around compassion, lived experience and practical skills.
Based in Redhill, Surrey and delivering training nationwide, we support organisations, individuals and community groups to build confidence around mental health, wellbeing, inclusion and suicide prevention.
We understand that suicide prevention training can feel sensitive and emotionally significant. Many people worry about saying the wrong thing, missing signs or not knowing how to respond. This course helps learners feel more prepared, while keeping the focus on compassion, safety and appropriate support.
Our approach is:
- Warm, human and reassuring
- Practical and confidence-building
- Sensitive around suicide prevention and mental health
- Focused on real conversations
- Clear about boundaries, risk and signposting
- Supportive of learner self-care
- Suitable for workplace, clinical, care and community settings
Learners are supported to build confidence carefully, with training that respects the seriousness of the subject without using sensational or distressing language.
Public and private Suicide First Aid courses
Public Courses
Public courses are suitable for individuals and small groups who would like to join an open course. These may be delivered online or at a public venue.
Private Courses
Private courses are delivered for one organisation at your premises, chosen venue or online. This can be a helpful option if you want to train a group of staff together and create a shared approach to suicide prevention across your workplace, service or organisation.
The Suicide First Aid course is available for groups of up to 16 learners.
Individual Rate
Group Rate
Is this the right course for your team?
Suicide First Aid is a strong option if you want to build practical suicide prevention skills across your workplace, service or community setting.
It may be particularly useful if you want to:
- Help staff recognise when someone may be thinking about suicide
- Build confidence in careful, compassionate conversations
- Strengthen understanding of suicidal thoughts and behaviour
- Support teams in health, housing, social care, education or frontline roles
- Create a shared approach to suicide prevention
- Help learners understand risk, signposting and self-care
- Support a wider mental health and wellbeing strategy
This course can also work alongside wider mental health training, including Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health Aware, MHFA Champion or Mental Health Skills for Managers.
Enquire about Suicide Prevention Training
If you have Get in touch to discuss public course options, private training for your organisation or the most suitable suicide prevention training pathway for your workplace, service or community setting.
- Call Us Directly01737 632279
- Send an Emailenquiries@changingmindstraining.com
- Business Hours
Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM