Findings At Befrienders Association

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Demographics of the interviewees are listed below in table 2:

Characteristics

Number of respondents

Percentage (%)

Gender

Male

5

41.7

Female

7

58.3

Age (Years)

30-39

1

8.3

40-49

2

16.7

50-59

7

58.3

≥60

2

16.7

Experience, E (years)

E < 1

3

25

1 ≤ E < 5

2

16.7

5 ≤ E < 10

6

50

E ≥ 10

1

8.3

What made them join this scheme?

Friends

6

50

Newspaper

2

16.7

Online Sources

1

8.3

To help others

2

16.7

‘I feel it a duty’

1

8.3

Table 2: Demographics of the respondents

4.1.1. Findings at Befrienders Association

During the ongoing of the research, 8 major themes were identified:

Personal view on suicide: this described the principal attitude towards suicide among the personnel.

Presentation towards the individual and following methodology is anchored to outline the usual mode of action of the members of Befrienders.

Major difficulties encountered served to outline where the members were confronted to different predicaments.

Major warning signs, following procedure and orientation to medical care: this theme served to describe the protocol to be applied in case of emergencies when the suicidal person is in a critical situation.

Time allocation and respecting privacy of individuals examine the mode by which the members value the personal data of the individual.

Scaling the genuineness of the therapies describe how the members feel about their efficacy of their work.

Changes noted in suicidal tendencies and improvements desired: this theme deals with the personal opinion of the members towards the actual rate of suicide in Mauritius and what they would want to see implemented to bring down its incidence.

Dissemination of information the public by the association constituted the last theme where the efforts of the association towards reduction of suicidal attempts in the country.

4.1.1.1. Personal view on suicide

The personal views of the participants towards suicide ranged from describing suicide as a pseudo-solution for the individual to being classified as a mental health problem at a particular point in his life. The only Befriender having less than one year experience among all those interviewed, described a suicidal person as being one who cannot face his/her problems and that this has never been a solution, nor will it ever become one. Her opinion was shared by another member.

‘No other solution being perceived by the individual’ was the popular answer (n=6) being given by the participants at Befrienders. This can be explained by the fact that the members followed an eight session on suicide prevention prior to their appointment.

‘Suicide is a way too dramatic option to come off of every problem in a person’s life. In some cases, the person may be mentally challenged at that particular moment (B09) but surely remains a preventable issue if rapid, immediate and proper action is implemented as quickly as possible. These people need mostly motivation and a good listener at that particular moment’. Suicide has been addressed in a different manner by the remaining four members where B09 views suicide as a mental health problem, but also rings the bell for proper action to be taken to reduce the incidence of new cases. B10 described that most people need to learn to listen so as to identify new cases and subsequently try to dissuade the person to go forward with suicide.

4.1.1.2. Presentation Towards the Person and General Methodology at Befrienders Association

Consistently, the majority of the members of Befrienders (n=9) assured the caller of the confidentiality, anonymity and respect being strictly adhered to at the association. However B05 explained ‘First of all, I present myself as a Befriender and then encourage the person to talk to me. Being more informal tends to relax the caller and thus flow of communication is more fluid’.

Among the pleasing features noted, B04 and B08 added ‘An inviting tone readily makes the caller more confident. So I exercise myself to be gentler during the calls but at any moment do I judge the actions or thoughts of the caller’. At Befrienders, one of the golden mottos is not to voice out personal opinions about the activities, thoughts or ideas of the caller. The aim is only to listen.

‘In some regular callers, we try to investigate about past attempts and then we try to compare their previous mood to now. More relax and jovial tone of voice will have a good prognosis’.

‘Active listening of the caller, allowing him to express his feelings without judgement’ remains the foundation of the general mode of action of Befrienders (n=10). At this association, the suicidal persons prefer to call in the hotline; relatively few of them prefer the face to face interaction.

‘The caller is encouraged to tell more about him. In some depressed persons, we tend to ask them about the different memories that tend to cheer them up. We try to orient them towards the positive side of life. In fact, a simple conversation tends to reduce the pressure load on oneself’ (B09 and B11). The members try as much as possible to maintain a conversation even if the caller seems hesitant.

4.1.1.3. Major difficulties

Half of the sample (n=6) interviewed pointed out the same problem: ‘the person calls but refuse to continue the conversation. When some do talk, they either refrain from giving certain vital information or repress their feelings due to the stigma associated with suicide’. Few members (n=3) added: ‘The caller view Befrienders as a universal problem solver but in some complex cases, we cannot give a sustainable advice (B01). Though we are here to help them, we cannot meet the way too high expectations of the caller (B05)’.

Three other members complained of the abusive language being used by the caller in some occasions; B03 explains: ‘We are only geared to listen and empower individuals in our training sessions; we are not taught how to counsel the persons. There is also a problem of time limit where we cannot allocate more than 1 hour to certain individuals especially when there are many callers’.

One interesting response from B10 was worth more investigation: ‘We have cases where the person do calls us but the moment they hear our voice, they hang up abruptly or hangs up whenever they feel someone is coming in their direction. Rarer cases have shown determined persons where the person might be talking to us but reveal that he has already cut his wrist or is in presence of sharp objects. The solution is not to panic, to remain calm and trying to dissuade the person or to propose external help in cases of emergency.’

4.1.1.4. Major Warning Signs, following Procedure and Medical Care Orientation

Identification of major waning signs was divided into two main divisions: devise of a suicidal plan (n=6) (for example, prior ingestion of corrosive substances or intricate plan for future suicide attempt) or complete obsession to kill oneself (n=6).

In the first case, some people have already designed their suicide plan, and then call the institution. There have been instances where the person has cut his wrist (B01) and then phoned Befrienders in order to tell their last wishes, or has already ingested a vast quantity of medications

Major warning signs include inability of the caller to think of anything else than suicide, consistently saying ‘I am fed up’ or hints at conditions of self neglect, for example giving away prized possessions.

In advanced cases, a systematic approach is adopted: ‘The person has to be convinced that to every problem there is a solution. Simple advices like "Your family needs you. Imagine them without your help" or "There is always light at the end of the tunnel" may be strongly effective. We try to empower the person as much as possible’ (B02 and B03).

‘If the person is still unconvinced, with his permission, I ask for his name, address and also call the SAMU or police if the need be. They might be in a quandary and require someone by their side.’

Orientation towards medical care is stereotyped among the members of Befrienders: they all refer the needy person to psychiatrists or psychologists at Life Plus or in Regional Hospitals so as to enable proper follow up of the persons.

4.1.1.5. Time Allocation and Assurance of Privacy

The participants were asked about time allocated to each person during the sessions. This is shown in the figure below:

Figure __ : 50% of the participants devoted less than 30 minutes, 17% maintained a conversation for less than 15 minutes, 25% talked for more than 1 hour and 8% proposed less than 1 hour.

To maintain privacy, universal answers were obtained: the caller’s name, address, phone number, or any other personal details were refrained from being asked. However B04 and B05 added that they do not investigate about personal details like familial relationship or financial status from the callers.

Names or phones numbers are only asked in emergency cases where the life of the caller is in danger, for example if he has ingested poisonous substances or has cut his wrist. Otherwise, the motto of Befrienders is only to listen and not to investigate about personal life.

4.1.1.6. Scaling of the Efficacy of the Sessions in Preventing Suicide

The participants were out to scale out of 10, where 10 is the best result, the efficacy of the sessions that they set up during the phone calls. The results are summarised in figure __ below:

Figure__: 42% of the participants rated the sessions 8 out of 10, 17% rated 10, 17% rated them 7.5 out of 10. 25% abstained from giving an answer.

4.1.1.7. Changes noted in Suicidal Tendencies and Improvements Desired

According to the participants, nowadays the mean age of the caller tends to be lower than previously (n=6): youngsters seem to be more prone to opt for a suicidal option in cases of depression. B02 noticed that more men tend to call at the institution and most are middle aged ones. However a few of the participants (n=4) noticed the involvement of mostly young girls who are tempted to go for a suicidal attempt. B04 added ‘Both sexes do look for help but girls go a step beyond and go for a suicidal attempt. They mostly need someone to talk to and reassure them that they do not need to kill themselves for the improvement of the situation.’

B01 put forward a pleasing note on her point of view concerning the current observed suicidal trend: ‘People with full commitment will go for a suicidal attempt. People who suffer from ambivalence will seek help. They want to die but not kill themselves. Nowadays I observe that generally people who commit suicide are adolescents of both sexes. Youngsters think of suicide due to emotional problems, adults due to financial problem and old ones due to loneliness or medical conditions.’

Setting up awareness campaigns to sensitise the population about suicide to stop the stigmatisation was the most popular suggestion (n=5) by the participants. They further added the inclusion of one’s religion as a deterrent factor in view to a suicidal attempt. Four participants added: ‘The use of media should be the most used method to eliminate stigmatisation of suicide through educative programs or the news itself.’

‘Convincing talk session in both primary and secondary schools should be done to educate the young ones about the dark side of suicide and its impact on the life of the individual, his family and the society in general’ was further proposed during the interview.

B01 explained: ‘Early education is the upmost priority in a suicide free aiming society or country. Moral values should be instilled at the earliest in our children, be it in primary schools and further implemented in secondary schools. Adults should be counselled on a family life and be educated how to cope in times of difficulties. Old age Homes should propose a friendly atmosphere since old persons living in Homes feel that they have been put away from their family. Death remains their only salute.’

4.1.1.8. 8. Dissemination of information the public by the association

Befrienders Association promotes the awareness of suicide prevention by the invitation to follow their eight session scheme. Usually many volunteers show up at their training sessions held at Bon et Perpétuel Secours College (BPS college) where these are formed to recognise warning signs, for example: "I’m fed up" or "I just want to end my life" and then accustomed to emergency situations where medical officers or the police intervention is crucial for the life of the person.

Furthermore, some activities are organised by B efrienders: On 03 October 2009, a fund raising ceremony was organised at Beau Bassin in L’Aventura Restaurant so as to be able to maintain their scheme is suicide prevention.

On 30 September 2012, ‘Unissons pour Prevenir le Suicide’ was organised by Befrienders at Place Margeot in Rose Hill. Participants made a march to inform the population about suicide and also sketches were proposed to educate the population about suicide in general.