Bermuda must improve the provision of education around suicide prevention and boost services for people with suicidal thoughts, a clinical mental health counsellor has said.

Sherrie Lynn Lilley, a certified suicide prevention educator and facilitator, and on-call suicide counsellor for Jamaican-based Choose Life International, is to lead an educational workshop on the topic in Bermuda next week.

The one-day event titled Demystifying Suicide will take place on Tuesday, World Suicide Prevention Day.

It is being offered at the Bermuda College in partnership with the facility’s Athora Professional and Career Education programme.

Ms Lilley, the owner of Bermudian mental health provider Pneuma Counselling and Consulting, who lives and works between the island and New York, told The Royal Gazette: “I chose to do this now as a result of my own observations of how Bermuda navigates suicide. I realised there wasn’t much of a conversation around it.

“One of the reasons it is so important now is that we can see people are struggling.

“Post-Covid statistics are telling us everyone is struggling, especially young people. If we don’t change the space where people feel safe to talk about it and find help, then we will continue to have suicide.

“Suicide is preventable. I think the challenge in Bermuda is the stigma, which is shaped by our culture norms and religious norms. That has really impacted us and there is a lot of shame about it.

“By opening up the conversation, more people will feel less fearful about the conversation and realise that people who are struggling with suicide ideation, most of the time, are not actually looking to die, they are looking to relieve the pain.

“People often don’t know what to do with internal turmoil. When you can’t express outwardly, you try to relieve the pain inwardly and the thought of how to relieve that pain can be to end your life.”

Ms Lilley said that the change must start with family and friends opening up the conversation and creating safe spaces for people in mental turmoil.

She noted that clinicians will also have a role to play, while the Government can help in ensuring there is funding, education, resources and training.

According to the Coroner’s Report in the Bermuda Judiciary Annual Report 2023, there were four suicides in 2019, three in 2020, two in 2021 and no suicides in 2022 or 2023.

Additionally, there was a separate category for “hanging” for which there were none recorded from 2019 to 2021, then two in 2022 and three in 2023.

Kim Wilson, the Minister of Health, said in 2019 that by international comparison, Bermuda’s suicide rates were among the lowest for high-income countries.

She said then: “Based on figures from the Bermuda Hospitals Board, over the last 17 years there were between 15 and 39 discharges from King Edward per year after an attempted or suspected suicide attempt.

“Between 2006 and 2015 there were 16 known suicides.”

Ms Lilley said this week: “The training I am providing is designed in a way that anyone can take away the concepts and interventions.

“I will dig deeply into ways that everyone from a neighbour to the head of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute can provide the type of care that is necessary.

“Anyone can come and they will leave feeling more equipped to really support someone who may be struggling in this way.”

The talk is suitable for anyone over 16; adult supporters of suicide education and prevention; caregivers; student support staff; wellness providers; and all concerned stakeholders dedicated to the cause of community education and suicide prevention.

As part of the programme, participants will learn about basic suicide risk assessment and management tools, while gaining an understanding of how to use common phrases appropriately.

There will be information about coping strategies and reducing stigma through education as well as intervention and preventive strategies.

Additionally, participants will be able to gain insight into how they can help to create a safe space for anyone considering suicide and becoming an advocate for ongoing education and conversations to establish Bermuda as a suicide-literate country.

Ms Lilley thanked the Bermuda College for deeming the topic of suicide important enough to provide the talk through its Apace programme, which offers students access to training and qualifications of a national and international standard.

Karen Smith, the programme co-ordinator of Apace, said: “Mental health issues affect many of us on our island and it's time we come together to address them.

“We encourage everyone to join us in this important conversation and help build a supportive, informed community.”

Demystifying Suicide takes place in the Athene Lecture Theatre Hallett Hall at the Bermuda College on September 10 from 9am to 4pm. Tickets are $125 and can be bought at www.college.bm/index.php/pace

For more information, call 360-0609 or e-mail info@pneumabermuda.com. Financial assistance is available through the college.

• Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can walk into the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute for immediate attention from Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm or call the Bermuda 24-hour Mental Health Crisis Line at MWI on 239-1111 or 249-3432

Help may also be found via a GP or a clinical psychologist.

The MWI offers mental health first aid training for people who want to help those with a mental health problem and refer them to professional help. For more information, visit the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute page at bermudahospitals.bm