2 city psychiatrists leading nat’l initiative on suicide prevention

Nagpur: Suicide is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in young adults and adolescents. The number of people succumbing to suicides has increased significantly during the Covid times.
Realizing the need for health professionals to deal with people suffering from suicidal tendencies, psychiatrists in the country have decided to start a unique training project online.
Two senior psychiatrists from Nagpur, Dr Sudhir Bhave and Dr Abha Bang Soni, are leading this initiative being the co-chairpersons of the Suicide Prevention Committee of the Indian Association of Private Psychiatrists (IAPP).
Dr Bhave said that compared to the lives lost due to suicide, the number of people attempting suicide is nearly three times higher. “Each of these can be prevented if help is offered and sought at the right time. But correct help for any mental health problem, including suicide, is very limited,” he said.
The number of mental health professionals in India is very low. According to a recently concluded research, the number of psychiatrists in India varies from 0.05 in Madhya Pradesh to 1.2 in Kerala per lakh population.
“There is a need to develop a workforce of trained professionals to act as first responders to prevent suicides. Initially, they will be doctors. Gradually, social workers, police and teachers will be involved,” said Dr Bhave.
IAPP has collaborated with an NGO ‘Safe Space’ for this task. “Safe Space has done extensive work in suicide prevention. We have started ‘Suicide First Responder Training’ course along with them. This course has UK certification,” said Dr Bhave.
IAPP president Dr Anukant Mittal told TOI that it’s a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
“It’s a monthly course, held over two weekends. So far two batches of 16 participants each have been successfully trained. It includes training on prevention, intervention and post-vention of suicide,” he said.
The next batch is scheduled for August and is already full.
IAPP and Safe Space have planned to gradually expand the programme to involve other stakeholders like schools, colleges, police force etc.
Dr Abha Bang Soni said that they hope to develop it as a ‘Train the Trainer’ programme to generate more trainers. “A wider educative opportunity has also been planned for those interested in mental health,” said the doctor.
Nyana Sabharwal, director of Safe Space, is one of the trainers along with being the Convenor of the Suicide Prevention Committee. IAPP president Dr Mittal and secretary Dr Avinash D’Souza have been instrumental in designing and promoting this course.
Training aspects
- Suicide behaviour, reasons and magnitude of the community health problem
- Role of the caregiver in managing suicide interventions, different roles with different people
- Understanding approaches and process of suicide intervention including desired outcomes
- Understanding the importance of self-reflection and personal impact when working with suicide and people at risk