Ageing isn’t synonymous with depression — Anglicare’s Prevention Program

Key points:

• Australian men aged 85 years and over have the highest rate of suicide yet are less likely to use specialty mental health services

• In 2020, the age-specific suicide rate for men over 85 was 36.2 deaths per 100,000 — the overall national suicide rate was 12.1 per 100,000 people

• The Program meets all Suicide Prevention Australia Standards and is Quality Improvement Plan accredited

Ambulances respond to over 16,800 calls each year from males experiencing suicidal ideation and a further 9,000 ambulances respond to a suicide attempt in Australia.

Statistically, men aged 85 years or older are most at risk of death by suicide, with the proportion of attributed deaths climbing at an alarming rate — from 32.3 out of every 100,000 deaths in 2019 to 36.2 in 2020.

Anglicare’s Suicide Prevention for Seniors Program aimed to address the worrying trend through free webinars which, over the course of three hours, equip carers with the ability to notice the signs and symptoms to intervene appropriately.

For Yolanda Couchman, the program manager for tailored support, that training came in handy within two hours of taking the course in January of 2022.

“Two hours after I did the course, my colleague and I had a situation where a lady had taken herself to an unsafe place,” Ms Couchman said.

“We were able to assist this lady — I was able to coach my colleague and we were able to ensure this lady had the attention that she needed from emergency services.

“My colleague said to me after that she could see the confidence it gave me and how I was able to give her the skills and we could work together as a team to make sure this lady was safe.”

However, Yolanda was far from the only person to gain something from the Program, as participants of the online webinars also had glowing reviews — 97 percent stated that they would recommend the course to a colleague and 98 percent rated the course as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’

Hammond Care’s Navigator Natasha Kovalenko said the Program gave her a baseline understanding of mental health across the three-hour session.

“Excellent Program — to the point — and Sian [the facilitator] really knows what she is talking about. I went from not having a clue to feeling much more confident about this topic,” Ms Kovalenko said.

Registered Nurse Shirisha Shrestha at Vital Home Health Care said she had encountered instances of clients reporting suicidal ideation and the Program had given her the knowledge to navigate any future incidents in the appropriate manner.

“[…] I found this Program extremely helpful and a very valuable to [sic] resource to call upon for any future interactions,” she said.

The next webinar, ‘Reminiscence Strategies to Support Older Adults,’ will be hosted by Professor of Clinical Psychology Sunil Bhar from Swinburne University of Technology.

Prof Bhar is a clinical geropsychologist with expertise in the application of psychological treatments to older adults living in residential aged care settings, as the director of the Well-being Clinic for Older Adults, a counselling service for older adults.

Eager participants can apply to attend Prof Bhar’s course, set to be held via Zoom on October 31, 2023, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. AEDT, for self-directed Continuing Professional Development Points, with a certificate of completion available upon request.

Previous courses, which have already supported the training of over 4,000 people in the previous 18 months, are available online to brush up on providing quality care and recognising the signs of suicidal ideation:

• Transitioning into Age Care

• Grief in the Later Years

• Veteran’s Mental Health and Trauma Awareness

• Older Men’s Mental Health

• How to Support Those in Grief

• Inclusive Care for LGBTI+ Older Adults

• Suicide and Safety Planning in Older Adults

• Intergenerational Programs and Their Impact on Older Australians

Across each course, aged and home care professionals, along with relatives and carers will learn about the common causes of suicidal behaviour, along with particular issues surrounding suicide in older adults and the risks involved.

For more information, please visit Anglicare’s Suicide Prevention for Seniors Program information page online.

If you or someone you love is at risk of a mental health crisis, please refer to the following resources:

Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636

Dementia Support Australia — 1800 699 799

Mental Health Emergency — 13 14 65

Lifeline — 13 11 14