Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline

About

The Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline provides a safe, supportive, non-judgemental and informative space for people who self harm, their friends, families and carers. The service can also provide information to professionals who learn more on the topic of about self harm.

The service is able to support anyone living within Gloucestershire, and you can contact the service by telephone, text or webchat during opening hours, every day 5pm to 10pm. The helpline provides: confidential emotional support and information; support and understanding during a crisis; promotes coping strategies and self-management to help you work towards your recovery. We can also help put callers in touch with other organisations.

If you use the service, you can expect:

- Up to 30 minutes of telephone support per evening
- Up to 60 minutes of web chat support per evening
- Up to 5 hours of text support per evening

All support is provided by a trained mental health recovery worker. The helpline worker will listen to you, support you, provide options and ways of coping, give information of other places that can help if needed, and may access help for you if you need it.

The helpline worker will not give advice, diagnose, or tell anyone else what you talk about.

If you contact the service as a worried friend, carer, family member or professional, the service can provide information on self harming (including reasons why people may self harm, and alternative methods of coping).

Calls to the helpline from landlines and some mobile networks are free and calls made via many networks will not show up on your phone bill. Some mobile networks may charge and calls may show up on bills. Texts are charged at your usual network rate and, depending on your call plan, may be free. 

The Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline believes in respecting and maintaining your confidentiality. Your personal information will not be shared with others without your consent except in exceptional circumstances where there is a risk to yourself or others, or where legal obligation applies. In these cases other agencies may be able to trace your call. If the need to break your confidentiality occurs, the service will, where possible, tell you and explain the reasons why.

The helpline uses Language Line and Typetalk to enable callers who are hard of hearing or those whose first language is not English to access the service.

Training 

Gloucestershire Self Harm also deliver workshops on self harm awareness, aimed at professionals, family, friends and service users. They work with a range of agencies and partners to reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by those affected by self harm in Gloucestershire.

Email glosselfharm@rethink.org to find out more.

Gloucestershire Suicide Prevention Partnership (GSPP) also offers training to help people in the county to identify when someone is having suicidal thoughts or showing suicidal behaviour, to help them to speak out in a supportive way, and to feel able to point the person towards to the correct services or support. Their Zero Suicide Alliance online training course for anyone who wants to know more about how they can help someone who is suicidal. This takes around 20 minutes to complete and is completely free of charge. 

The training covers how to help a stranger, a co-worker or a loved one and is also provided in British Sign Language.

Access the ‘Suicide Lets Talk’ course here.  

Rethink Mental Illness 

Visit the Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline website

Visit the Rethink Mental Illness site

Download a service flyer  

Download the Rethink Flyer

Download a printable contact card

Gloucestershire Support After Suicide Service 

• 1:1 emotional and practical support beginning with six personalised weekly sessions with a Suicide Bereavement Worker, followed by six fortnightly sessions, and an option to extend if needed; 

• Practical support including help to navigate processes such as talking to police, funeral arrangements, Coroner's Court and inquests, responding to media and support to talk to employers;

• Bereavement counselling with volunteer counsellors, beginning with six to eight weekly sessions;

• Face to face and virtual bereavement peer support groups facilitated by a Suicide Bereavement Worker and a volunteer with lived experience of suicide. These will help people build connections, tackle the isolation they may be feeling and get support from others with similar experiences;

• Signposting and referral to other bereavement services as appropriate.

Visit the website

Dowload the Support After Suicide poster

Download the Support After Suicide leaflet

Contact:  glossupportaftersuicide@rethink.org