STORM Skills Training CIC

What is Storm Skills Training CIC?

Storm Skills Training CIC exists to benefit the self-harm and suicide prevention community. We are a not-for-profit, social enterprise (Community Interest Company - CIC), that provides high-quality, effective, self-harm and suicide prevention training supported by a wealth of research, experience, and expertise.

They have been delivering suicide prevention training for over 20 years, and have evolved our program based on the latest in self-harm and suicide prevention research, best practices, and lived experience evidence.

Storm Skills Training offer a range of self-harm and suicide prevention training courses designed for teams and individuals working on the frontline who are in regular contact with people in distress, and/or have vulnerability to self-harm and suicide.

Overview of training:

Version 5 (V5) of their training package is designed to equip your team with the essential knowledge and skills to confidently identify, assess, and support individuals at risk of self-harm or suicide.

This can be at the complex end of mental health, primary care, social care, healthcare, education settings, prisons, and lots of other settings.

How is the training developed?

Storm Skills Training take what they learn from research, best practice, and lived experience to create the training. They then work with teams and individuals to enhance skills to use this effectively in a conversation with someone in distress using a person-centred approach – including engagement, holistic assessment, formulation, and personalised safety planning.

The evidence-based training methodologies give frontline team members the opportunity to practice, reflect, and give and receive feedback on skills in a safe and supportive learning environment. Storm Skills Training use the highest standard of skills development, which includes filmed skills practice for the more advanced levels of their courses.

Through a combination of observation, skills practice, and filmed skills practice, participants will refine their ability to provide compassionate and collaborative support, including full psychosocial assessments, risk formulations, and personalised safety plans.

The training is dynamic and challenging because conversations about self-harm and suicide prevention can be dynamic and challenging.

Methods of delivery: 

• Direct to participant (small group model): Where you have a smaller workforce or there are significant challenges with workforce pressures to release staff to deliver training, asking to deliver directly to the frontline might be the option for you and your team. Group sizes are up to eight people (minimum of four).

• Train the Facilitator (TTF – cascade model): Facilitators will receive training in the advanced level course of the training package to become familiar with the knowledge content and the skills training methods. They will also learn how to deliver the various courses and facilitate learning.

Storm Skills Training work with you and your team to ensure the success of the program in your workforce. The team will be with you each step of the way, from providing guidance around facilitator recruitment to providing high-quality facilitator training and ongoing support.

• Open Courses (for individuals and small teams): For frontline staff who don’t work for an organisation with the training already in place and wish to develop skills in helping someone in distress.

Who can take the course?

​​​​Anyone can take these courses but they’re predominantly aimed at individuals and organisations who work with service users and the wider public. This can include working with adults, and children and young people. Courses are designed to suit the specific needs of these audiences.

Courses are flexible and can be delivered online or face-to-face, and for some courses, we can deliver a blended model.

We always take the time to get to know your team before the training and will make sure the course scenarios are tailored to your setting, organisation, and the participants attending. 

Both the Adult and Children and Young Adults (CYA) training packages have three course levels to choose from:

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Foundation

Advanced course level

This course is suited to professionals who hold significant responsibility for supporting individuals in distress or crisis, including those vulnerable to self-harm and suicide. This includes but is not limited to, those who:

• Work directly with people experiencing mental health challenges, including self-harm and suicidal thoughts
• Conduct full psychosocial assessments to comprehensively evaluate factors influencing an individual’s mental health and wellbeing
• Work collaboratively with individuals, families, and support networks to develop and implement personalised safety and care plans
• Using personalised risk formulation to inform care plans and/or safety plans, or actively working towards implementing this practice 
• Respond to mental health crises and provide ongoing support to individuals in distress
• Play a key role in safeguarding individuals at risk of harm to themselves or others

Course aim:

The aim of the advanced-level training course is to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in identifying, assessing, and supporting individuals experiencing self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

Learning outcomes:

Building on existing skills and competencies, this course will enhance participants’ ability to:

• Adopt a compassionate and collaborative approach with a person in distress
• Recognise warning signs and vulnerabilities associated with self-harm and suicide
• Carry out a full psychosocial assessment to evaluate factors that influence individuals’ vulnerability to self-harm and suicide 
• Assess signs of distress, including asking about suicidal thoughts and self-harm
• Effectively engage with family members, carers, and other members of the person’s support network to share and gather relevant information (where consent allows) and to provide support
• Use collaborative formulation to develop a shared understanding of the person’s vulnerabilities and strengths to inform personalised safety and are plans
• Work with the person to develop a personalised safety plan tailored to their needs and circumstances
• Collaboratively review existing care and safety plans, addressing challenges to recovery and making necessary adjustments
• Teach a problem-solving technique to individuals in distress, empowering them to develop practical coping strategies
• Engage in reflective practice, continually evaluating and improving their approach and response to individuals experiencing self-harm and suicide

Examples of professions and roles who would find this course level beneficial:

• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Mental health nurses
• Social workers 
• Other professionals working with complexity and vulnerability
• Other professionals with responsibility for safeguarding

Intermediate course level

The intermediate-level courses are suited to a broad range of roles and professionals. This includes, but is not limited to, those who:

• Work with individuals who at times experience high levels of stress and distress
• Have a role to play in helping to prevent suicide and self-harm at work
• Work with individuals who at times may express or experience suicidal thoughts or show signs of self-harm
• Provide initial or ongoing care and support
• May interact with individuals’ support networks, such as family members or carers
• May address physical injuries, including those resulting from self-harm, within their professional capacity

Course aim:

The aim of the intermediate-level course is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to confidently identify, assess, and support individuals at risk of self-harm or suicide.

Learning outcomes:

Building on existing skills and competencies, this course will enhance participants’ ability to:

• Adopt a compassionate and collaborative approach with a person in distress
• Recognise warning signs and vulnerabilities associated with self-harm and suicide
• Further explore signs of distress, including asking about suicidal thoughts and self-harm
• Conduct a collaborative assessment, gathering essential information about the person’s immediate needs in relation to self-harm and suicide
• Engage with family members, carers, and other members of the person’s support network to gather and share relevant information (where consent allows)
• Work with the person to develop a personalised safety plan tailored to their needs and circumstances
• Recognise the scope of their role and understand when to facilitate referrals to specialist mental health services for further assessment and intervention
• Engage in reflective practice, continually evaluating and improving approach and response to individuals experiencing self-harm and suicide

Examples of professions and roles who would find this course level beneficial:

• Healthcare professionals (e.g., GPs, nurses, pharmacists)
• Professionals in psychological therapies (e.g., counsellors, psychotherapists, CBT therapists)
• Social workers
• Criminal justice professionals
• Community support workers and case managers
• Youth workers and mentors
• Crisis support workers
• Rehabilitation counsellors and addiction specialists
• Third-sector workers, including volunteers

Foundation course level

This level will be available soon. Please contact Storm Skills Training directly for more information.

Varies depending on course type and level –from two to five days.

If releasing staff for training for more than one day is challenging, Storm Skills Training can speak with you and see if there are options to work around this, without losing the effectiveness of the training - they aim to be as flexible as possible.

With an academic and clinical background, Storm Skills Training CIC know what works well in training and to help those in distress. Their packages are based on academic research and best practice with a focus on ‘real life’ experiences.

Evidence underpins the content and methods of training packages, and their unique formula is supported by academic research.

Research supports Storms Skills Training CIC effectiveness across a range of audiences including frontline health and social care, volunteer workers, schools and higher education, and in prisons.

Storm Skills Training - research and evaluation studies:

• Gask, L., Coupe, N. & Green, G. (2019). An evaluation of the implementation of cascade training for suicide prevention during the ‘Choose Life’ initiative in Scotland. BMC Health Service Research, 19, 558. Available here.
• Gask, L., Coupe, N., McElvenny, D. & Green, G. (2017). Pilot study evaluation of suicide prevention gatekeeper training utilising STORM® in a British university setting. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 45(5), 593-605.  
• Robinson, J., Green, G., Spittal, M., Templer, K. & Bailey, E. (2016).  Impact and acceptability of delivering skills based training on risk management (STORM®) in Australian secondary schools. Health Behaviour and Policy Review, 3(10), 259-268.
• Gask, L., Lever-Green, G. & Hays, R. (2008). Dissemination and implementation of suicide prevention training in one Scottish region, 8, 246. Available here.
• Hayes, A., Shaw, J., Lever-Green, G., Parker, D & Gask L. Improvements to Suicide Prevention Training for Prison Staff in England and Wales. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 38(6), 708-713.
• Hayes, A. & Lever-Green, G. (2006). Developments in suicide prevention training for prison staff: STORM® and Beyond. The Journal of Mental Health Workforce Development, 1(4), 23-28. 
• Gask, L., Dixon, C., Morriss, R., Appleby, L. & Green, G. (2006). Evaluating STORM® Skills Training for managing people at risk of suicide. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 54, 739-750.
• Green, G. & Gask L. (2005). The development, research and implementation of STORM® (Skills-based Training on Risk Management). Primary Care Mental Health, 3(3), 207-213.
• Morriss, R., Gask, L., Webb, R., Dixon, C. & Appleby, L. (2005). The effects on suicide rates of an educational intervention for front-line health professionals with suicidal patients (the STORM® Project). Psychological Medicine, 35(7), 957-60.
• Droughton, J., Gask, L., Green, G., Dixon, C. (2004). The principles of establishing training courses in risk assessment and management. In, Duffy D, Ryan T, eds. New Approaches to preventing suicide: A manual for practitioners London. Jessica Kingsley. 
• Appleby, L., Morriss, R., Gask, L., Green, G. et al. (2000). An educational intervention for front-line health professionals in the assessment and management of suicidal patients (The STORM® Project). Psychological Medicine, 30(4), 805-812. 
• Morriss, R., Gask, L. & Battersby, L. et al. (1999). Teaching frontline health and voluntary workers to assess and manage suicidal patients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 52, 77-83.

For more information on the supporting evidence for Storm Skills Training click here.

Read feedback from Storm Skills Training customers here.

You can help by expanding this list - contact us

Please contact Storm Skills Training CIC for more information.

Social impact

As a social enterprise, Community Interest Company, Storm Skills Training exists to benefit the suicide and self-harm prevention community.

The success of their training benefits the community in two ways:

1. The direct impact of the training on the frontline – enhancing skills and confidence of teams and promoting person-centred collaborative conversations with those in distress and their support network
2. They share their training success: by investing in projects and activities which help to further our mission to reduce the incidence and impact of self-harm and suicide.

 Every penny generated helps toward achieving their vision of having more effective conversations that help reduce distress, and losing fewer lives to self-harm and suicide.

A useful resource for teams

To support you and your team in meeting the updated NICE clinical guidance (NG225), Storm Skills Training have developed a resource titled, ‘Moving Towards Individualised Risk Management’.