Our Services
Samaritans WA aims to help build communities in which people have appropriate support to explore how they feel and to build mental wellness. We do this through providing Phone Support, Outreach Support and Training.
Outreach
Samaritans WA Volunteer Counsellors provide face-to-face counselling, delivered in partnership with other WA based not-for-profit organisations. We work across mental health, homelessness and family and domestic violence.
We are proud to partner with:
Youth Suicide Sanctuary
Samaritans WA is proud to partner with Ruah and Telethon Kids Institute to design and deliver an innovative new service that will save the lives of young Western Australians and support up to 300 young people and their families every year. The service is a new Youth Sanctuary planned for Subiaco, offering help to young people experiencing suicidal thoughts. It is hoped the Sanctuary will open in 2023. The Youth Sanctuary will be a residential centre providing early intervention for up to five people aged between 16 and 24 at a time – an opportunity to work with them before they reach crisis point. The program is based on an international model, operated by Maytree UK, which has been working successfully for 20 years. Young people experiencing suicidal thoughts won’t need a mental health diagnosis to use the facility and can be referred there by anyone, including family, friends or health professionals. Or they can refer themselves. Currently, young people experiencing suicidal thoughts have no choice but to end up in a hospital emergency department which is an inappropriate option for the young person and places added pressures on our hospital system.
The Youth Sanctuary will, as the name suggests, be a peaceful place for recovery, located at the Samaritans WA existing site at 60 Bagot Road, Subiaco, pending approval for the change of use from the City of Subiaco. Previously, the Samaritans ran its emotional support phone line services from the site and, before the COVID pandemic, it was also a drop-in centre.
If you’d like to know more about the Youth Sanctuary, you can read the announcement from Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson, an Information sheet or perhaps have some of your queries answered in this FAQ.
Phone Support
Samaritans WA Volunteer Counsellors provide emotional support to individuals, every day from 8:00am-8:00pm (AWST).
People call our service for many different reasons. Something that is quite small for one person, can seem overwhelming for someone else. No matter how big or small, Samaritans WA Volunteer Counsellors are here to talk it through.
Our Volunteer Counsellors will not make decisions for people in need of support, and will respect the decisions they make. Every individual is an expert on their own life.
The services are anonymous and confidential within Samaritans WA. Volunteer
Counsellors will not ask for people’s names or where they are calling from. They can also explore referral options to other agencies and support services if needed.
Workshops and Training
At Samaritans WA, we are proud of our strong relationships with organisations, government agencies and community groups in working to improve mental health outcomes and suicide prevention. We endeavour to provide programs that meet their needs – customised, effective, and compassionate. It is our aim that we empower individuals with the appropriate skills and knowledge to facilitate success, whether that be for a community member, an employee or an organisation as a whole.
Samaritans WA training facilitators includes qualified, highly skilled individuals from a variety of professional backgrounds including psychology, psychotherapy, counselling, mental health promotion and education, as well as those with their own lived experience, including carers and family members. Plus many more through our extensive network of contacts in the academic and practice domains.
To enquire about our training offering and receive a quote, please email admin@thesamaritans.org.au or call (08) 9381 5725.
Bespoke Training
In addition to nationally accredited programs, Samaritans WA employees and associates are able to deliver training related to the following:
- Mental Health Conversations
- Suicide Awareness and Intervention
- Trauma-Informed Care and Practice
- Effective Engagement with Consumers
- Verbal De-escalation Skills
- Building Resilience and Wellbeing
LivingWorks
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
ASIST is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first-aid. As the world’s leading suicide intervention workshop, the ASIST program is supported by numerous evaluations including independent and peer-reviewed studies. Results demonstrate that ASIST helps participants recognise when someone may be at risk of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety.
In the course of the two-day workshop, ASIST participants learn to:
- Understand the ways personal and societal attitudes affect views on suicide and interventions
- Provide guidance and suicide first-aid to a person at risk in ways that meet their individual safety needs
- Identify the key elements of an effective suicide safety plan and the actions required to implement it
- Appreciate the value of improving and integrating suicide prevention resources in the community at large
- Recognise other important aspects of suicide prevention including life-promotion and self-care
safeTALK
safeTALK is a half day workshop that prepares anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeTALK-trained helpers can recognise these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources, such as caregivers trained in ASIST.
Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches participants how to assist people who are developing a mental health problem, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis, until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis resolves.
At Samaritans WA, we have facilitators available to deliver:
- Standard Mental Health First Aid (12 hour)
- Youth Mental Health First Aid (14 hour)
- Standard Refresher Course (4 hour)
- Conversations About Suicide (4 hour)
- Conversations About Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (4 hour)
SANE – Mental Health Forums
Samaritans WA has partnered with SANE Australia to host the SANE Forums – providing a safe place to share your experience.
Lived Experience Forum
Samaritans WA has partnered with SANE Australia to host the SANE Forums – providing a safe place to share your experience.
Friends, Family and Carers Forum
The Friends, Family and Carers Forum helps you connect to people like you and to share your experience of caring for someone living with mental health issues. You can read stories, reply to discussions or start your own.
