Mental health in NI

In the past few days we have attended various conferences focusing on suicide prevention and trauma in Belfast. Individuals who have experienced trauma, loss, and suicide have shared their influential stories. As a training mental healthcare professional, it was frustrating to listen to how the healthcare system and government in Northern Ireland appears to be failing the people in providing adequate care. One statistics presented by PIPs reveals that more deaths can be attributed to suicide in Northern Ireland when compared to car related deaths. However, the government allocates significantly more money to road safety than suicide prevention. It has made me greater appreciate organizations like PIPs and other nonprofit community that have their feet firmly grounded in their communities. The conferences also provided a strong argument that resiliency and post-traumatic growth is dependent on an individual’s connection to others. Although psychology often focuses solely on the individual, we cannot forgot that individuals are embedded in many systems.