Release time: 2025-04-11 13:22

Staying Safe from Suicide guidance

As a member of the Partnership of Counselling and Psychotherapy Bodies (PCPB), BACP has been involved in the development of new Staying Safe from Suicide guidance from NHS England

The partnership, along with other stakeholders, was consulted and invited to provide feedback on the Staying Safe from Suicide guidance during its development. 

A formal statement from PCPB, available on the PCPB partnership website, reads as follows:

"The PCPB partnership welcomes the publication of ‘Staying Safe from Suicide’ by NHS England.

"The partnership was pleased to be invited to comment on the guidance during its development. It marks an important shift towards the holistic, patient-centred approach integral to our wider profession and this specific and complex area of practice in all settings, and a move away from the unacceptable and often-harmful reliance on risk-prediction tools or simplistic questions.

"We also welcome the recognition that in this area of practice the work is never complete, and that the application of the principles included in the guidance must be applied appropriately according to different settings and individual circumstances and fully responsive to the voices of those with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and their experience of mental health services.

"The partnership is keen to continue contributing to the understanding and improvement of practice in this complex and tragic area."

Members of BACP should refer to the following Good Practice in Action (GPiA) resources to support their practice in this particular area:

GPiA 042: Fact Sheet: Talking about suicide risk with clients in the counselling professions

GPiA 042a: Video resource: Working with suicidal clients

GPiA 057: Legal Resource: Suicide: issues for the counselling professions in England and Wales

GPiA E-learning 02: Exploring suicidal risks with clients