Our CEO contributes to roundtable discussion at 10 Downing Street

Ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day our CEO Ellen O’Donoghue joined Ministers Jake Richards (in his role supporting men and boys) and Alison McGovern (overseeing Mental Health policy) at a Downing Street roundtable today on Men’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

The discussion focused on what more Government can do to support men’s mental health and to prevent men from reaching the point of suicidal crisis. Alongside the fact that men are three times as likely to die by suicide than women, there are important and significant gender differences in what affects people’s mental health and suicide risk.

At James’ Place, many of the men we see neither identify with diagnostic labels, nor do they view themselves as having a mental health issue. They instead feel trapped by a problem they can’t fix, and many of the men we treat are put off by, or turned away from, traditional clinical mental health settings.

As a charity that provides life-saving therapy to men in suicidal crisis, we valued this opportunity to bring our insights to this discussion to help ensure the mental health needs of men and boys are accounted for across the full range of public policies so that fewer men feel suicide is their only option.

As Ellen said: “At James’ Place we have treated over 5,000 men in suicidal crisis. It’s so important that we learn from their experience, and make sure that evidence-based, sustainable treatment and support is there for people when they need it most. We were so pleased to share our own insights and learn from colleagues working across mental health and suicide prevention in today’s round table.”

Special thanks to the other attendees who contributed excellent insights including Mind, The Mental Health Foundation, Samaritans and Movember.