Guidelines to assist in responding to attempted suicide or suicide by ...

Mental disorderA diagnosable illness that significantly interferes with anindividual’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities.Mental healthA state of successful performance of mental function,resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships withpeople, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope withadversity.Mental illnessMental illness refers to all of the diagnosable mentaldisorders. Mental disorders are characterized byabnormalities in thinking, feelings, or behaviours.Mental health problemA situation in which a person experiences some disturbanceor impairment of normal emotions and/or thinking.Mental health professionalsProfessionally trained people working specifically in mentalhealth, such asocial workers, occupational therapists,psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurses.Mental health promotionAction to maximise mental health and well being amongpopulations and individuals.PostventionPostvention is the provision of crisis intervention, supportto alleviate the distress of suicidally bereaved individuals;reducing the risk of imitative suicidal behaviour and thepromotion of healthy recovery of the affected community.PreventionInterventions that occur before the initial onset of a disorder.Protective factorsCapacities, qualities, environmental and personal resourcesthat drive individuals towards growth, stability, and health.Psychological First AidPsychological First Aid (PFA) is an approach for assistingindividuals after an emergency or disaster. It is a supportiveintervention used for children and adults for a brief periodof time, generally during the hours, days and weeks after anemergency or disaster. PFA for teachers is about listening,protecting, connecting, modelling and teaching. See:Psychological First Aid and Mental Health First Aid: A Guide forTeachers.RecoveryRecovery is the process of a gradual restoration of asatisfying, hopeful and meaningful way of life.ResilienceCapacities within a person that promote positive outcomes,such as mental health and wellbeing, and provide protectionfrom factors that might otherwise place that person at risk ofadverse health outcomes. Factors that contribute to resilienceinclude personal coping skills and strategies for dealing withadversity, such as problem-solving, good communication andsocial skills, optimistic thinking, and help-seeking.Risk factorsFactors such as biological, psychological, social and culturalagents that are associated with suicide/suicide ideation. Riskfactors can be defined as either distal (internal factors, such asgenetic or neurochemical factors) or proximal (external factors,such as life events or the availability of lethal means - factorswhich can ‘trigger’ a suicide or suicidal behaviour).Risk-taking behavioursRisk taking behaviours are behaviours in which there issome risk of immediate or later self-harm. Risk-takingbehaviours might include activities such as dangerousdriving, train surfing, and self-harming substance use.Self-harmNon-suicidal self-injury: A form of intentional physical selfdamageor self-harm that is not accompanied by suicidalintent or ideation.StressorAn event that occasions a stress response in a person.Suicidal behaviourSuicidal behaviour includes the spectrum of activities relatedto suicide and self-harm including suicidal thinking, selfharmingbehaviours not aimed at causing death and suicideattempts. Some writers also include deliberate recklessnessand risk-taking behaviours as suicidal behaviours.Suicidal ideationThoughts about attempting or completing suicide.Suicide clusterA suicide cluster can be defined as a group of suicidesor acts of deliberate self-harm (or both), that occur closertogether in time and space than would normally be expectedon the basis of statistical prediction and/or communityexpectation. Schools, prisons, mental health facilities,Indigenous communities, and communities with previousexperience of suicide or suicide clusters are indicated to beat higher risk of experiencing a suicide cluster. In Australia,suicide clusters have most commonly been documented inIndigenous communities and in young people.Suicide preventionActions or initiatives to reduce the risk of suicide amongpopulations or specific target groups.SuicideIt is the intentional act of taking one’s own life.Suicide postventionThe ‘provision of crisis intervention, support and assistancefor those affected by a completed suicide’.Traumic eventsA ‘traumatic event’ is any incident experienced by theperson that is perceived to be traumatic. Common examplesof traumas that affect individuals include accidents (such astraffic, car or physical accidents), assault (including physicalor sexual assault, mugging or robbery, or family violence),and witnessing something terrible happen. Mass traumaticevents include terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and severeweather events (hurricane, tsunami, forest and bush fire).Universal InterventionInterventions that target the whole of a population orpopulations. In suicide prevention, these include activitiesto reduce access to means of suicide, to reduce mediacoverage of suicide, or to create stronger and moresupportive families, schools and communities.Section H: DefinitionsGuidelines to assist in responding to attempted suicide or suicide by a student51