Recently, there have been significant changes to key legislative and policies related to suicide prevention both nationally and within NSW. So, we thought the time was right for a toolkit to help rural practitioners keep up with the advances in suicide prevention.

This toolkit is our biggest yet, and for good reason. There is a lot of important thinking on suicidality and suicide prevention. Working with people who are experiencing suicidality can be incredibly rewarding and meaningful work, but it can also be tough. This toolkit discusses current thinking and best practice guides for working with suicidality, as well as how to look after ourselves as we do this work.

This resource was developed for the Rural Mental Health Partnership by Dr Michelle Townsend at The Peregrine Centre. The Rural Mental Health Partnership is funded by NSW Health. We thank Caroline Allen and Roses in the Ocean and the NSW Ministry of Health for their valuable contributions to this resource.

The following resource is designed for both mental health practitioners who are interested in learning more about the latest developments in suicide prevention in clinical practice, as well as those who would like to transform their organisation to be in line with the latest thinking in suicide prevention. All our resources are aimed at the mental health workforce located in regional, rural and remote NSW. This toolkit is particularly guided by the National Suicide Prevention Framework.

Organisations funded by the NSW Government to deliver services should follow guidance and advice provided by the NSW Ministry of Health in the first instance.