SafeTALK, Croí na Gaillimhe (SVP building), Mill St., Galway City

safeTALK

safeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares attendees, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeTALK-trained helpers can recognise these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources. safeTALK-trained helpers are an important part of suicide-safer communities, working alongside intervention resources to identify and avert suicide risks.

Who provides safeTALK training?

safeTALK trainings are provided by registered LivingWorks trainers. These trainers will have attended safeTALK training for trainers. They will have participated in a rigorous quality control process and maintain their skills by presenting safeTALK trainings on a regular basis. The provision of safeTALK training in the Republic of Ireland is funded by the HSE.

Who should attend safeTALK training?

safeTALK offers valuable skills to attendees and requires no formal training or prior experience in suicide prevention. Because it only takes half a day to learn, safeTALK is an excellent tool for people who want to become alert to the dangers of suicide in a convenient time frame. Although formal caregivers such as social workers and counsellors employ safeTALK skills, the programme is also used by students, teachers, community volunteers, first responders, Gardaí, public and private employees and professional athletes—among many others. By providing a universal model with adaptable components, safeTALK offers useful skills to every audience.

What can I expect at safeTALK training?

safeTALK is a powerful experience. You can expect to feel challenged, empowered and hopeful. Your safeTALK trainer will demonstrate the importance of suicide alertness and help you identify ways people invite help when they’re having thoughts of suicide. safeTALK’s steps provide a simple yet effective method to engage with people who are having thoughts of suicide and connect them with resources that can carry out a full-scale intervention. At the end of the training, you’ll have a chance to practice these skills firsthand. All in all, you can expect to leave safeTALK with practical knowledge of how to identify someone having thoughts of suicide and link them to life-saving resources.

Learning goals and objectives

Over the course of their training, safeTALK participants will learn to:

Notice and respond to situations where suicide thoughts might be present.
Recognise that invitations for help are often overlooked.
Move beyond the common tendency to miss, dismiss and avoid suicide.
Apply the TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen and KeepSafe.
Know community resources and how to connect someone with thoughts of suicide to them for further help.

Training features

Presentations and guidance from a LivingWorks registered trainer.
Access to support from a local community resource person.
Powerful audiovisual learning aids.
The simple yet effective TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe.
Hands-on skills practice and development.

Note:
The content of the safeTALK workshop may be difficult to deal with if you are feeling emotionally vulnerable. If you have suicidal thoughts, or have been recently bereaved, particularly through suicide, you may wish to delay taking part in this course until you're feeling stronger, emotionally.

safeTALK training is not suitable for those aged under 18 years.

Training is free but booking is essential.