The following episode discusses suicide including, descriptions of a suicide, suicide attempts and self-harm. This content may be disturbing, so we encourage listeners to prepare themselves emotionally before proceeding, and potentially postpone listening until you feel ready. If you believe that the episode will be traumatising, we urge you to forego it. And if you need information on suicide prevention helplines, please visit the show notes for this episode.
Welcome to Association of Child Protection Professionals' Podcast, a podcast where we, alongside guest hosts, share with you what you need to know in child protection and safeguarding.
This episode is a Special Episode. In these special episodes, we take a more focused look at a singular issue that professionals working with children and families need to know about. These are often specific and urgent – so we’ll be talking with a professional at the forefront of the issue.
In today's episode Wendy Thorogood, Chair of the AoCPP, talks to Michayla West about her daughter's experience of mental health conditions and subsequent attempts at taking her own life. She discusses her family's fight to keep their daughter alive, the effects of Covid-19 on mental health services, and what services and professionals need to do in order to better protect the children and young people in her daughter's position.
We greatly appreciate Michayla for sharing her and her daughter's story.
This is a short extract from Wendy’s conversation with Michayla. AoCPP members have access to the full discussion on the member’s area of this website.
For more information on suicide prevention charities and hotlines, visit the links below:
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For more information about membership of the Association of Child Protection Professionals go to childprotectionprofessionals.org.uk/join
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For those listening in the future, this episode is being recorded and published during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many frontline professionals are finding themselves overworked, time poor and confused as government guidance is changing daily. To alleviate the pressure child protection professionals are under, we have created the AoCPP Podcast, which will provide support to these professionals who continue to serve our country, its vulnerable children, and families, in unprecedented circumstances.