[Counselor_Educ] FW: National Suicide Awareness Month Week 4: Connect a Friend

[Bhat, Christine]

Subject: National Suicide Awareness Month Week 4: Connect a Friend

National Suicide Awareness Month
Week 4: Connect a Friend

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Dear friends of Athens County Suicide Prevention Coalition,

It's the 4th week of National Suicide Prevention Month! Last week, you learned how to have difficult conversations with friends showing the warning signs of suicide. This week, we will learn the importance of connecting a friend to the right resources.

We'll provide more conversation tips focused on encouraging your friend to seek out professional resources & a few helpful links to make successful connections with mental health resources across Ohio.

One of the most helpful things you can do for someone experiencing a mental health crisis is to connect them to resources and mental health services. You should let your friend know you care but your goal is not to counsel them-it is to help them gain access to the right resources.

It is important to identify if they have an immediate desire, plan and means to attempt suicide. If your friend expresses thoughts of suicide, keep them safe and connect them with mental health services as soon as possible.

Follow the conversation and referral tips listed below to help your friend feel comfortable connecting with mental health services and resources.

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Tips to successfully connect your friend with mental health services:

Explain how the mental health services can help & what they will include.
Be up front with your friend and explain what receiving mental health services (counseling, hospital services, etc.) will be like. This can dispel any misconceptions a friend may have on services (such as laying on a couch in Freudian style). Share on how services can help patients successfully address negative thinking patterns and/or treat mental illness.

Normalize the experience of receiving mental health services.
We often carry stigma when it comes to seeking out mental health services. Share with your friend examples of others who have sought out and benefited from mental health services. If you have personally received mental health services in the past, share your own story of how the mental health services helped you grow.  Let your friend know that he or she is not alone in struggling and that professional services can help.

Emphasize the long-term positives of overcoming the current challenge.
Talk with your friend about the ability for effective mental health services to support him/her and help him/her overcome current challenges. Emphasize the personal growth that he/she can experience and emphasize that it takes courage and strength to connect with mental health services.

Let your friend decide on what mental health services to seek out.
Allowing your friend to decide on what mental health services to seek out can provide empowerment and a sense of control. If you have personal recommendations for mental health services, provide them. But also offer options and ask your friend which mental health provider he/she would be the most comfortable seeing; maybe it's a faith counselor, maybe it's a college counselor, maybe it's a nearby hospital, or maybe it's a counselor with a private practice. Let your friend choose and ensure that connection is made.

Offer to go with your friend to a mental health provider.
By offering to make a trip with your friend, you can decrease his/her anxiety on asking for help, receiving services, or talking about personal struggles. You can provide a helpful shoulder for him/her to rely on as first connections with the provider is made. This simple act can increase the probability that he/she will follow through with a mental health provider.


Resources for finding immediate & long-term help for a friend:

1) The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7 access to crisis counselors who can provide support to a friend and/or advice to you when a friend is in crisis: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

2) The Crisis Text Line also provides 24/7 access to crisis counselors and enables individuals to engage in crisis counseling through text. All individuals are guaranteed a response within 5 minutes: Text "4hope" to 741-741

3) The Ohio Dept. of Mental Health & Addiction Services maintains an Ohio Mental Health Provider map. Individuals can click on a county to see the available mental health providers in their area: http://mha.ohio.gov/Treatment/Where-to-Get-Help/Mental-Health-Provider-Search

4) The Ohio Dept of Medicaid maintains a searchable list of health providers who accept Medicaid. To search for mental health providers in your area, select your county & then under "Provider Type," click "Clinical Counseling," "Mental Health Clinic," or "Psychology." Click HERE<https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fportal.ohmits.com%2FPublic%2FPublic%2520Information%2FSearch%2520Provider%2520Directory%2FtabId%2F61%2FDefault.aspx&data=02%7C01%7C%7C1f93c32423d1473a558f08d7411d9b49%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637049467716168040&sdata=2IV3bUYbN%2FdLYV4%2BN3R4%2FRwhjXQK4hNOAEwgkj2gCWg%3D&reserved=0> for the Medicaid provider search.

5) OSPF maintains a map of county-based Suicide Prevention Coalitions, Local Outreach of Suicide Survivor Teams, & Mental Health Recovery Service Boards. Visit http://www.ohiospf.org/coalition-map/<https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohiospf.org%2Fcoalition-map%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C1f93c32423d1473a558f08d7411d9b49%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637049467716178035&sdata=cNqicWzcC1dwUsF6gWoEszYUVIkzepI%2BDMmSClnFQX0%3D&reserved=0>

*You can replace the content of this last bullet with your local Suicide prevention coalition, LOSS team, & MHRB Board, &/or crisis line info if desired*
In Crisis? Call 1-800-273-8255 OR Text "4Hope" to 741741





Svea Maxwell
Associate Director
Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board
Phone:  740-593-3177<tel:740-593-3177>
            740-592-6648<tel:740-593-3177>
Fax:     740-592-1996<tel:740-592-1996>
www.317board.org<https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.317board.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C1f93c32423d1473a558f08d7411d9b49%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637049467716178035&sdata=W8NyRGVydlgBrmYGOx01FIKK2dLXMQzqgX4VHr2TGTU%3D&reserved=0>

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
1-800-273-8255
Trans Lifeline:
1-877-565-8860
Crisis Text Line:
Text '4HOPE' to 741-741


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