Integrating Supports for Family, Friends and Carers into Suicide Aftercare Services
In this course, Dr. Jaelea Skehan explains how supporting the supporters—families, friends, and carers—can strengthen suicide prevention outcomes across communities. Drawing from the development and real-world implementation of the Minds Together program, she outlines a transformative approach to equipping informal supporters with evidence-based tools, lived experience-informed insights, and service system integration strategies.
About this course
In this course, psychologist and suicide prevention leader Dr. Jaelea Skehan, Ph.D., introduces the philosophy, structure, and implementation of the Minds Together program—an evidence-informed, digitally and locally delivered initiative for families, friends, and carers of those experiencing suicidal distress. Drawing on over a decade of research and real-world implementation, she highlights the often-overlooked role of informal supporters and the critical need to integrate their needs into suicide prevention and aftercare systems. This course offers practical tools, real-life program design considerations, and system-level insights to help clinicians, organisations, and communities better engage and equip support networks, enhancing outcomes for everyone involved.
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