DISCHARGED suicide peer support groups use the Alternatives to Suicide approach
The Alternatives to Suicide Approach
Alternatives to Suicide believes suicidal thoughts occur because of things that happen in our lives.
Alternatives to Suicide is about sharing our stories, listening to each other and exploring what makes us want to end our lives. The groups are a safe space where people can speak openly and honestly about their feelings without having to hide. In Alternatives to Suicide groups, we respect personal choice and control by not fixing or diagnosing each other, or rescuing or reporting on one another. We seek only to bear witness to each others’ pain.
The approach was developed in 2009 by the Wildflower Alliance. It was born out of significant community need for a place to talk about suicidal feelings, as this was rarely available in clinical settings.
The Alternatives to Suicide approach is different from traditional suicide prevention. It provides an alternative to risk assessment, pathologising distress, and the use of coercion or force when supporting people contemplating suicide. Caroline Mazel-Carlton, Director of Training for the Wildflower Alliance, further details these dimensions in this interview published in the Community Psychologist. We recommend checking it out for a more in depth understanding of why Alternatives to Suicide exists.
Alternatives to Suicide seeks to find meaning in our pain and connect us to others who understand.
The goal is not to force someone to stay
alive from moment to moment: the goal
is to support someone in creating a
meaningful life they want to live.
Not killing one’s self is simply
a side effect of that.
Alternatives to Suicide has a guiding Charter
Core values of the Charter are:
respect, support and empathy is essential
each person is the expert of their own lives
we ask questions out of curiosity, not out of fear
freedom to challenge social norms and expectations
everyone can interpret and define their own experiences
relationships are respectful, not judgemental or controlling
The Alternatives to Suicide Charter also safeguards everyone’s rights and personal control by:
making sure everything shared in the group is kept confidential
running groups in a community space (never a clinical setting)
not using clinical interventions or traditional suicide prevention techniques
having open and easy access to the groups (no diagnoses or referral is needed)
welcoming people who are moving towards, coming out of or are currently in crisis into groups
accepting that people don’t need to be experiencing a current crisis in order to attend
ensuring clinicians only attend if they are seeking their own support for suicidal thoughts
sitting with people in distress and exploring their thoughts and feelings without assumptions
ensuring everyone who attends groups, including Facilitators, has had current or past experiences of suicidal thoughts
If you want to know more about Alternatives to Suicide, check out the Alternatives to Suicide Charter or our resources page.
