Australian Institute for Humane Responses to Hearing Voices, Psychosis and Suicide
Suicide Narratives
'Suicide Narratives and the wise person: A person contemplating ending their life is a wise person who has a knowing of their story and can heal. Experiencing healing of self when sharing in companionship can be an empowering reality for the individual and the whole community' - Ball & Ritchie
Immediate response -
Connection in crisis
Suicide Narratives seeks to offer Just Listening during times of acute distress. Although each has a slightly different perspective on witnessing and connecting, the approaches share many common elements.
Just Listening is intended to provide a sense of Justice through the process of listening. Not seeking to change or alter, nor solve the problem or find solutions, Just Listening is a humanistic approach that places the presence and intention of mutuality as central.
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Just Listening is a humane way to offer justice and develop connection towards empowerment, by hearing a person in crisis and sharing in the moment as mutually human. Just Listening seek not to fix, but instead lead with deep listening and offer justice to any story.
The Suicide Narrative approach advocates a person reaching out to find connection and meaning as often as the individual needs. Suicide Narratives rejects any notion that it is a negative or problematic situation for a person in ongoing crisis to reach out for support as often as is necessary for their safety. It is common in mental health crisis services to pathologize and put in place barriers to connection when a person reaches out repeatedly.
Suicide Narratives does not place pejorative labels on a person who finds themselves asking for connection on numerous occasions. Indeed, the listener may reflect that the person in distress has not truly been heard or has more to share if the person is returning for connection again. Thus, the responsibility is on the supporter, not the person in distress, to offer connection, compassion and meaningful action. In facilitating Justice to the person in distress, and their story, mutuality can be found, and right understanding of shared realities can be developed.
The value of connection across all our communities is an imperative in the context of a person contemplating ending their own life.
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Ongoing response - connection in ongoing support:
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It should be noted that for some individuals, the process of identifying and exploring the somatic presentation of suicide is of value but may not be a preferred process for the others. ​