September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness on an often stigmatized topic. Human trafficking survivors experience heightened suicide risk compared to the general population. Survivors are at elevated risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, stress, and self-injury, all of which are major risk factors for suicidal thoughts and attempts. However, in the Philippines, lack of access to mental health care, stigma associated with mental health services, and limited training on suicide prevention among service providers create barriers for survivors receiving needed support when they are suicidal.
At Eleison, we provide suicide prevention and intervention services for survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence. We use a culturally-adapted version of the Suicide Safety Planning Intervention (SPI). SPI is an evidence-based intervention for reducing suicide risk developed by Drs. Barbara Stanley and Greg Brown, Psychiatry faculty at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. SPI is a brief, collaborative intervention between a clinician and suicidal client that aims to mitigate acute risk. The intervention helps individuals identify warning signs of an impending suicidal crisis, employ concrete coping strategies, connect with support persons, and make their environments safer. SPI encourages clients to rely on internal and social supports, making it well-suited for settings with limited formal mental health services.
Eleison staff actively screen for suicide risk when survivors demonstrate common warning signs or disclose suicidal thoughts or behaviors to staff. Additionally, Eleison’s partners refer suicidal clients to Eleison for further support when they feel the clients’ needs are beyond their organizational capacity. Thus far in 2022, Eleison has provided suicide prevention services to 13 survivors, including a total of 45 counseling sessions with these clients. Suicide risk levels have decreased for 100% of survivors receiving our suicide prevention services so far in 2022. Eleison’s suicide prevention program helps survivors stabilize and stay safe during a suicidal crisis, in addition to building coping skills and stronger support systems.
If you would like to support our work in preventing suicide among survivors, you can donate here.
