Tightropes & Safety Nets - Counselling Suicidal Clients

Counselling a client who is suicidal can be one of the most demanding and professionally challenging experiences for any counsellor. Balancing the needs and rights of the client against professional expectations and an appropriate management of confidentiality can be extremely difficult. Regardless of setting or client group, counsellors are likely to work with suicidal clients at some point in their career.
This video is a short extract from a 63 minute DVD aimed at Counsellors. The DVD is titled "Tightropes & Safety Nets - Counselling Suicidal Clients" and has been produced and directed by the Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Leicester - Professor Sue Wheeler, Dr. Andrew Reeves from University of Liverpool Counselling Service and Jon Shears, University of Leicester Multimedia Services.
The DVD that the clip comes from can be used either by individual counsellors who wish to explore their own personal and professional responses to suicide risk, or by training groups to prompt thought and debate around these difficult and sensitive issues. The vignettes presented in the DVD are drawn from casework, and developed in response to counselor feedback to help ensure they capture important professional dilemmas.
The DVD has four main menus: Perspectives on Suicide; Talking about Suicide with a Client; Assessing Suicide Risk; The Counsellors Process.
Menu One: Perspectives on Suicide
This section is divided into two parts. Part one provides an insight into an individuals experience of having been suicidal, and what they experienced as helpful and unhelpful at that time. Part two provides an insight into three counsellors experiences of working with suicidal clients; how suicide risk might present in sessions, responses to suicidal clients and the demands of being a counsellor when faced with this professional challenge.
Menu Two: Talking About Suicide with a Client
Research suggests that how we talk about suicide with our clients can profoundly shape both our understanding of their suicidal experience, and our ability to assess risk (Reeves et al., 2004). Additionally, the counsellors willingness to talk about suicide will either facilitate the clients potential to understand their own suicidal thoughts and therefore their capacity to support themselves through crisis, or hinder it. A counsellors session with their client Kieran demonstrates how important counsellor interventions are with suicidal clients.
Menu Three: Assessing Suicide Risk
Current approaches to suicide risk assessment emphasize the importance of understanding risk factors. Such factors might include age, gender and employment status for example. While some counsellors routinely include the use of risk assessment tools in their work with clients, (e.g. through questionnaires etc.), many do not. Counsellors need to be able to identify risk factors in their work with clients to help inform their assessment of suicide risk. A counsellors work with Josh and Anne demonstrates how suicide risk factors can be identified during a counselling session.
Menu Four: The Counsellors Process
An under researched aspect of working with suicidal clients is the influence of the counsellors own response to suicide potential. How counsellors hear suicidal thoughts, how they feel and what they think or believe will all significantly influence the therapeutic dialogue. Additionally, counsellors responses will not only shape the nature of what is talked about, but also potentially influence decisions such as whether to seek specialist assessment, or even whether to continue with counselling. Counsellor responses to their client work can be understood well through their use of supervision. Five supervision vignettes are presented, demonstrating five different ways in which counselors might be affected by their work with suicidal clients.
For more information about Counselling courses at the University of Leicester see; www.le.ac.uk/lifelonglearning/...
The "Tightropes Safety Nets - Counselling Suicidal Clients" DVD is available now, see www.go.le.ac.uk/tightropes

[@raymondlai4656]

Dear UniversityLeicester, I would like to say, thank you, to you, for taking the time, energy and effort to both upload and share this video with the youtube community. Thank You!

[@ManOnPEI]

As a counsellor in training it is very important to recognize the fear that the new counsellor needs to acknowledge. This is a great video. Thanks

[@nuhs27]

Thanks for sharing, very insightful about the importance of the counselor becoming emotionally aware of her or his own feelings.

[@isoney]

Thanks for your honesty. This is challenging part of counselling - or counselling training in my case. I'm glad I found this video.

[@sallydyer455]

I thought this was a good video, the honest account of the therapists, it can be tough and counsellors must be in touch with their own stories to and how this work can impact them. Counsellors are human too. Good upload, thanks for doing this.

[@audreyh6628]

Great video, thank you

[@lifepillars4u]

This is great information, thanks 🙏

[@PunkersTV]

interesting my counsellor is very good this video humanises her she is scared and fallible too thanks for uploading this

[@Deuntjes1]

This is more about how therapist feel then proper tools or intervention

[@leasmith6837]

Thank you for your honest accounts.

[@welshhibby]

The lady with grey top doesn't seem suited to this line of work.

[@Cashback13]

+welshhibby Agreed I can't imagine the energy she brings into the room when working with suicidal clients, she is a complete catastropher, she clearly doesn't trust the relationship or her own ability to feel safe working with this area. The other two seem calm, collective and re-assuring and this would translate into their work and help in their clients process, rapport and feeling of safety.

[@IwasBlueb4]

She also has zero concern for the patient...but rather, just thinks about herself.....She seems either Narcissistic to me, or even sociopathic

[@kpatino6197]

She is being so honest though and was saying exactly how a lot of us would feel, she said she takes it to supervision. Out of everyone she said that 'its about the relationship' i found this powerful

[@MrShaggy789]

If she has negative emotions towards her clients, shouldn't she refer them onto someone else. Only those that have experienced mental health issues understand the torment it carries.

[@marklocke5678]

I agree

[@IwasBlueb4]

fear of being locked up !

[@kpatino6197]

Very insightful.

[@dougn2350]

I thought the guy in the first segment was the patient.

[@IwasBlueb4]

I think and feel strongly, that the lady in the grey top, should be taken off her job.....Getting angry with a patient who continues to feel suicidal, is NOT a good therapist....Maybe a cleaning job would be more appropriate for her...And when a patient does commit suicide, she has NO concern about the poor person, but rather JUST about herself !! Quite sociopathic response, really !

[@StonefieldJim4]

Evy Courtney I understand your response, but anger is not the opposite of compassion, and it can come hand in hand with fear. I respect the responses she gives. They're honest. That invites trust. I've been a psychotherapist for 7 years and am applying for a job at Leicester University. I hope I get to work alongside these people.

[@writingme]

You don't know what you're talking about. Feeling angry, does not mean showing her anger. Therapists can manage and separate their feelings from their patient. If she denies her anger, then the anger might slip out during a session. She'll discuss and learn to understand her own reaction to suicide in her own private therapy or supervision. Oh, and kudos to demeaning people who clean for a living, as well.

[@marmaladebabe]

I know you made your comment 5 years ago but I watched this video today as part of suicide training in my job as an administrative/appointments secretary for a charity that provides counselling. I’ve had therapy and experienced some dark times and I thought her responses were awful! I admit I felt a bit triggered but totally inappropriate for an administrator to hear!

[@writingme]

@@marmaladebabe Therapists NEED TO say how tough and uncomfortable their job can be. If they pretend otherwise they burn out and cannot be of help to anyone. You do realise therapists are human? You realise that they can have human emotions and keep ones that might interfere with their clients therapy out of the room?

[@marmaladebabe]

@@writingme yes of course I understand that. I’m an administrator and I didn’t think it was relevant for me to hear those thoughts when I need training on how to manage a suicidal member of the public that I might end up talking to me through my work. It annoyed me listening to her. I’ve been in therapy and had some bad experiences and it irked me.