Characteristics of the suicide behaviour and actions that need to be taken by professionals working with the child and the family in such cases were discussed during a specialized training on suicide prevention among children. Representatives of the Social Assistance and Family Protection Departments of 11 regions, psychologists, social workers from 3 multifunctional centres in Calarasi, Falesti, and Ungheni, participated in the event.
The workshop was facilitated by the MIRT resource centre for suicide prevention, and included discussions about signs that can be detected at a suicide-thinking person, how to identify a suicide-thinking person, how to prevent suicide among teenagers in the context of dangerous internet games, how to approach persons that have suicide ideas, what skills and knowledge a practitioner should have in order to solve such cases and provide necessary assistance and support, etc.
Liuba Ceban, a psychologist and facilitator of the seminar, mentioned: “The phenomenon of suicide and realities associated with it, such as suicide thoughts and suicide attempts, are very frequent. Unfortunately, those realities are not shared by the family, but rather camouflaged out of the feeling of guilt or shame. Families often do not trust to ask for specialist support. Statistics related to the phenomenon are alarming: about 500-700 suicide cases are registered yearly; about 30 of them are children”, said Mrs. Ceban.
According to Mrs. Ceban, an important role here belongs to the professionals who work with parents and children, such as teachers, doctors, who should know information related to this phenomenon, those hidden signs that can be exhibited by a suicide-thinking person. “It’s imperative that this specialist knows how to communicate with these children, focusing on understanding and empathy, rather than on advice and judgements”, underlined the expert.
The event was organized by Partnerships for Every Child, supported by USAID and OAK Foundation.