Minds Together Program
Supporting someone experiencing suicidal distress or following a suicide attempt can be challenging. While your focus may naturally be on the person you care about, looking after your own mental health and wellbeing is important too.
Minds Together is a free, self-paced online program designed to support family, friends and carers in NSW with practical information, strategies and resources.
What is Minds Together?
Minds Together is an evidence-based program designed to build the skills, knowledge and confidence of people supporting someone experiencing suicidal distress or following a suicide attempt.
The program can help you to:
Support someone experiencing suicidal distress by understanding what suicidal distress is, what to look out for, how to talk about suicide and ways you can provide support.
Support someone following a suicide attempt by learning more about why someone might attempt suicide and understanding some of the strong feelings you may experience as a supporter.
Look after yourself by understanding your support role, recognising how caring for someone may affect your own mental health and wellbeing, and finding ways to prioritise self-care.
Who is the program for?
Minds Together is for anyone in NSW providing support or care to someone experiencing suicidal distress or following a suicide attempt.
This may include:
partners and spouses
parents and other family members
siblings
friends
colleagues
carers
chosen family.
Family, friends and carers can play an important role in providing support, fostering hope and helping someone through recovery. However, supporting another person can also be stressful and emotionally demanding, and supporters may need care and support themselves.
What does the program include?
Minds Together can be completed online at a time and place that suits you.
The program includes:
three core sections
three additional in-depth topics
videos featuring family, friends and carers sharing their lived and living experience and practical tips
podcasts from experts
interactive and reflective activities
access to a moderated online social support forum.
People with lived and living experience from diverse population groups were actively consulted in the development of the program and helped shape its content.
For health professionals and service providers
Health professionals and service providers can refer family, friends and carers to Minds Together and encourage people accessing their services to share the program with those who support them.
The program can complement the support provided to a person experiencing suicidal distress or following a suicide attempt by helping the people around them strengthen their own coping skills, wellbeing and capacity to provide support.
Access Minds Together
Minds Together is free to access and available online.
Visit:
www.mindstogether.org.au/supporting-someone-in-nsw
For more information about Minds Together, contact:
Email:mindstogether@health.nsw.gov.au
Minds Together is an Everymind program. The NSW Ministry of Health and Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care have engaged Everymind to embed the program in NSW.