Nearly 2,000 people have been trained to identify and help those in mental distress as part of a plan to reduce suicides in Wales. Teachers, police and health staff are among those involved in the Assembly Government’s 'Talk to Me' programme.
The updated plan says it seeks to raise awareness and encourage people to talk more about their problems. About 300 people commit suicide in Wales each year, a higher rate than in England, but lower than in Scotland. About three-quarters of people who take their lives have not had contact with mental health services in the months leading up to their death. Plans for an all-Wales suicide strategy were accelerated after a series of deaths among young people in the Bridgend area.
© British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy 2011.